Of Emerald Eyes And Bowties: A Gravity Falls Story
by KateTheGreat911411
Summary: Kate is fed up with being different and not being able to find a decent job. With a hopeful heart and a strong will, she leaves Arizona and ends up in Gravity Falls, Oregon and meets Mabel and Dipper Pines who are there for the summer with their strange Grunkles. But when Bill Cipher comes back for revenge, his eye looks to Kate to help make it happen. What will Kate do now?
1. Chapter 1: Arizona Sucks!

Chapter One: Arizona Sucks!

"I'm sorry Miss Collins, but I'm afraid you just don't meet up with what we're looking for." "Aw come on! There's gotta be something you could have me do. I could-" "I'm sorry miss, but there isn't. Now if you'll excuse me I have some paperwork to attend to." "Fine then, whatever! It's not like I really wanted this shitty job anyway! See ya never and hope ya like hell!" "SLAM!"

Well, that settles it. Nobody in this God forsaken town was gonna hire a 21 year old like me for anything. That assmuncher was the eighth fricking business owner I talked to in the passed month so far. It was already early June and my birthday was only four days ago. How long was I gonna have to look for a decent job in this entire town? We're those eight jobs the only good ones Phoenix had to offer? Was there really nothing else left? Maybe those businesse owners saw something off about me. Was it cause I had red dyed hair tips? Was it cause I looked and dressed like a teenageer? Was it my fun personality? Why did they not want me? I was perfect for a few of those jobs I tried to get. But somehow the owner would always say I didn't qualify of didn't have what it took. Maybe this was God's way of saying I wouldn't find a job here. And if finding a job was hard enough, the number of friends in my friends department wasn't very promising either. People somehow always found ways to poke fun at how I looked and acted. When I was younger it made me cry, but now it was more annoying than hurtful. They're words were like a chihuahua that wouldn't stop barking 24/7. And being a foster child didn't make the teasing lessen much."Well Collins, looks like you need a change in scenery. Maybe I could leave Arizona and find a better town to work in in another state. And maybe even make some real friends. I know I'll be leaving my dad and brothers behind, but I'd come back and visit every now and then. But where the flying fuck will I go? I can't just hop on the next bus to nowhere in particular. Think Kate think!" Just when I was gonna quick on the idea did something catch my wandering hazel eyes. A poster with a picture of a small town was hanging in the window of a nearby gift shop across the poster also had bold letters the spelled out "Gravity Falls" on it. With curiosity gnawing at my brain, I decided to go over and get a better look at it. After I got closer to it and examed it for a bit, the shop owner who was a middle aged woman came out after seeing me just stand there like an idiot. "Hey kid, you looking for something?" "Uh, yeah actually. I was wanting to know where ya got this poster from." "Oh that old thing? It was just something a friend of mine sent me from where he lives. He thinks it's like apple pie but I think it looks like shit." "I see. So I'm guessing this is the town he lives in?" "Yep. Gravity Falls, Oregon to be exact. Why ya so interested in that sleepy little place anyway?" "Eh, no reason really. I was just curious is all. Well, see ya later I guess." As I walked off I smiled at the idea that was forming in my skull at that moment. _"Gravity Falls, Oregon huh? Sounds like it's just my speed."_

4 days later...

As I stared out the rain drop covered window of the bus, I smiled softly and thought of all the friends I would make when I got to Gravity Falls and what kind of job would take a weird kid like me. In a small town like that I'd probably get a decent job in a heartbeat. That and eventually I'd be able to call everyone by their first after a while. Pretty soon the bus passed a sign saying "You are now leaving Arizona", causing me to grin with excitement and relief. _"Finally! Now that I've left Arizona behind it'll be smooth sailing from here on out. Goodbye AZ! Hello Gravity Falls!"_ After mentally cheering at my small victory, I leaned back into my seat and watched the world outside pass by while feeling both free and happy for once in my life until I fell asleep to the sound of the rain.


	2. Chapter 2: The Twin Who Shot Me!

Chapter 2: The Twin Who Shot Me!

48 and a half hours later...

"Next stop is Gravity Falls! Anyone who's getting off there better get ready!"

I woke up with a start from the sound of the male bus driver's voice disturbing me from my nap. Other than feeling groggy and a bit annoyed with the driver for the wake up call, I was happy that after a constant drive and a few stops for food and sleep, I was finally almost at my desired location. It was early afternoon when I found that the bus was stopping at a busstop sign that was no where near the town. I had already knew from my research on the town that it was a small town in some huge forest in Oregon, but did they have to put the bus stop so fricking far away from the town? I had an old looking floral suitcase from my deceased grandmother Opal, a medium sided handbag, and a heavily packed Walking Dead backpack to carry too. If the idea of this town being so far out in the boonies wasn't gonna kill me then the long walk to it sure will.

"Gravity Falls! All those who are getting off better take the chance while ya can!"

As I got off the bus with my heavy load, I quickly turned to speak the driver before he closed the bus doors.

"Uh, excuse me sir, but would you by any chance know what the cheapest motel in this town is?"

"Honey, I'm a bus driver, not this town's tour guide. You best go and ask a local if a low priced room in this place is what you're lookin' for. Also ain't you a bit young ta be traveling so far from home?"

"I'm 21 years old sir. I think I can handle myself just fine. And I came here for reasons that are surely none of your business."

"Relax kid, I was just curious is all. Well, gotta get back ta drivin'. Hope ya find what you're looking for here kid."

With that the driver closed the doors and drove away in a cloud of dust. As I watched the bus disappear out of site, I looked to the road that lead to town and then back at where the bus had gone with both tiredness and gloom.

"Yeah, me too dude."

30 minutes later...

"Ugh! Why did my grandmother own such a hefty bag like this?! It's like practically trying to carry a stubborn baby rhino on a fucking leash!"

It had been at least half an hour since the bus had dropped me off in the woods and already I felt like I had ran at least three miles while trying to carry my heavy luggage around. Why my grandmother ever thought buying a suitcase with the weight of a two thousand pound bull was a great idea was beyond me. Also I started regretting ever putting my iPhone, iPod Nano, Microsoft Laptop, IPad, and a JBL Micro wireless speaker (All with their individual chargers) into the handbag I was carrying. And if that didn't top he cherry on the parfait, then the heavy backpack containing every DVD I owned sure would of. I kept trudging on another thirty minutes until finally I decided to stop and catch my breath for a few minutes or so before I went on. As I sat down on the old suitcase, I decided to pull out and scroll my IPod to find a few good songs to listen to while I regained my strength.

"Ok, let's see now. James Taylor? Nah. Nickelback? Not in the mood. Marianas Trench? Pretty good but no. Maybe a little-"

"LOOK OUT!"

I paused and turned suddenly to address who spoke but was interrupted by something hard hitting me in the head.

"Wha-SMACK! AUGH! PLOP!"

The next thing I knew I was on the ground groaning with a major headache and an extremely dizzy feeling. As I layed there with my eyes closed in a dazed state, I heard the voice I heard before and a new one piping up after it.

"OH MY GOSH!"

"OH NO MABEL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! THE GRAPPLING HOOK WAS JAMMED UP AGAIN!"

As I listened to the voices, I could tell they were both a little boy and girl from how young they sounded. The girl who I heard was called Mabel sounded distressed by what she did to me. I tried to tell her it was ok, but I soon felt myself slipping into an unconscious state from the minor head injury. Just before I blacked out, I saw two small forms gather around me and looking at me with kind brown eyes.

* * *

Normal Pov:

Flashback to before the accident...

It was another warm day in Gravity Falls. The now 13 year old Mystery Twins Dipper and Mabel Pines, who had just arrived five days ago, were exploring the forest around them to see what had changed since they last saw it. As Dipper looked around and jotted down a few things in a notebook he brought for the walk, Mabel was running around and skipping with joy as she kept shooting her grappling hook at random trees and rocks for fun. It had been a whole year since Bill Cipher and his Weirdmaggeton was stopped by them and the rest of Gravity Falls, and since then so much had happened in their time away. Their Grunkle Stan and Ford had returned to Gravity Falls from their boating life to spend the summer with them and to tell them all the things they saw during their sea voyages. They also had moved back into the Mystery Shack that Soos and he's fiancé now owned and ran since the Pines Brothers were away. They were originally gonna buy an nearby apartment in town, but Soos, being the marshmallow hearted guy he was, said that they could stay at the shack since it was their home before he was put in charge and they were also his friends. Wendy had got a job at the local arcade since Soos' fiancé Melody was now working the cash register and the arcade was looking for a replacement for theirs. Pacifica and her parents had reverted their rich life to a normal less rich life that for some strange reason made her and her parents more...happy. Guess when ya don't have fame, fortune, and a paparazzi on you a lot, ya find that once ya loose it all it makes ya think about if it all was worth loosing. And for them it really was worth it. And Pacifica's attitude had even improved since then as well. Now she was a bit more sweet to Mabel and her friends and had even started to like learning how to knit sweaters with Mabel since the Twins had arrived. The other people of the town had made some nice changes as well, but we'll just skip them for now and return to The Mystery Twins instead.

"CRASH! WHOO HOO! SCORE!"

"Nice shot Mabel. But ya might wanna be more careful with that thing. Especially since it's been jamming up lately."

"Don't worry Bro-Bro, I got this. Besides, the jamming isn't that bad."

"You almost took Grunkle Stan's head off this morning while you were trying to shoot at a nearby tree."

"Ok, I guess ya got a point there. But seriously, what could happen out here? It's only me, you, and a bunch of trees and forest animals roaming around. Plus I'm only aiming at old wooden signs and trees. It not like I'm trying to actually kill anyone or thing. Plus that morning incident only happened because Grunkle Stan came out at the wrong time to get the newspaper."

"Ok but still, please try to be a bit more careful with that. Also maybe you should have Grunkle Ford take a look at it. He'll probably know what's jamming it."

"Alright Dip. But first, let's go over by the dirt road to town and see what's changed before we head back. Maybe we'll meet a new friend while we're there."

"Fine by me. But uh, what about...you know."

"Huh?...Oh, that. Um, maybe we can check it out tomorrow. I kind of get chills just thinking about it."

"Yeah, same here."

What could they be talking about you might ask? Well, after they defeated and erased Bill Cipher, the only thing that was left of him was his physical form which was now a strange triangular stone lawn ornament in the middle of the woods. They had been meaning to check it out to make sure nothing had changed since they last saw it, but for some reason they kept putting it off. It was probably do to the fact that it was only a year ago that either one of them were almost killed by him when he threatened to kill one of them in front of their great uncles or the way he had turned the strange little town of Gravity Falls into his own little weirdo playground of mass chaos and hysteria. Of course no matter how much the thought of just seeing him again was making them feel sick, they still had to do it eventually since their Grunkle Ford told them they needed to keep an eye on it as well. Since his return, Ford had been to the sight a few times himself to see if the stone figure was where it was supposed to be. If anything did happen to the statue, such as a small crack forming for example, then it could mean Bill may have somehow survived the ordeal in Stan's mind and was coming back for revenge and a second attempt at creating worldwide Weirdmaggeton once more. His brother told him that there couldn't have been anyway way for Bill to return after the earth shattering punch he had given him, but Ford wasn't going to take any chances after seeing how Stan had somehow managed to regain his memories after being blasted with the mindgun a year ago. If his brothers memories managed to have made it through the blast, then who was truely to say Bill didn't somehow do so as well. And to make sure that never would happen again, he vowed that whenever he was visiting Gravity Falls he would visit the statue whenever he could find time or he would send the twins to check for him if he was somehow neck deep in some sort of research. And unfortunately he had happened to have gotten caught up in studying some footprint samples he collected near a place where he was for sure was a werewolf nursing site, where they would of course care for their newborn offspring in large hidden dugouts. And since he up and decided that he wasn't going to stop until he was for sure, he appointed both the twins to be his backup watchers whenever he needed them. Which brings us back to their problem of facing their newly developed fear for Bill.

"Hey Mabel."

"Yeah Dip?"

"Do you think we keep putting it off because of the weird feelings we get? I mean, I'm not saying I don't exactly like the idea of it but-"

"-Nah, it's cool. I get what ya mean. And ya know what, why should we be afraid of some statue of our former enemy? I mean, sure the whole Weirdmaggeton thing happened like a year ago, but that doesn't mean we should be afraid forever right?"

"Uh, yeah, totally. Hmmm, ya know what, now that I think about, maybe after we get your gun fixed we should check out the status of the Bill statue today instead of tomorrow. The sooner we get it done with the better right?"

"Yeah! And who knows. Maybe we'll feel better after doing it. Oh look, we're almost there!"

As they came up on the desired location they had been heading to, Mabel saw another old treesign she could use for one last round of target practice before calling it quits. As she pulled it from her skirt's belt to hit her desired target, the gun had jamming up once more to her unwanted displeasure. She tried to remedy the problem by hitting it a few times with her fist.

"Ugh! Come on you stupid gun! Quit being stubborn!"

"Uh, Mabel, maybe you should stop now."

"Just one more sign I swear Dip. Come on you big, stupid-"

"SPRANG! WHOA! PLOP!"

As she gave it one last strong force with her small fist, the gun finally shot off like a bottle rocket at a school science fair. She smiled at her victory for a moment, but that look was soon replaced with a look of fright when she saw that the other end of the gun was heading straight toward some woman sitting on a suitcase on the side of the dirt road.

"GASP! LOOK OUT!"

"SMACK! AUGH! PLOP!"

Mabel could of sworn she had lost all warmth and color in her always rosy cheeks when the hook hit the woman in the forehead and knocked her straight to the dirt covered ground. Her brother looked just as shocked and paled as she did after also seeing everything that had just happened.

"OH MY GOSH!"

"OH NO MABEL! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT! THE GRAPPLING HOOK WAS JAMMED UP AGAIN!"

"AND SO YOU DECIDED TO HIT IT?!"

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT WAS ACTUALLY GONNA HAPPEN?!"

The twins' argument was soon halted by a painful groan coming from the woman Mabel had knocked senselessly to the ground. Dipper went in a cautious fashion over to check on the woman with Mabel closely in tow. As they got close enough to the woman's face, Dipper cringed a bit at the sight of a bruise starting to form on her forehead from where the hook had hit her. Both he and Mabel bent down to get a closer look at the woman and to try to ask her if she was alright.

"Uh, are you alright ma'am?"

Unfortunately the woman fell unconscious once Dipper had asked her. Well, so much for better alright.

"Oh man! What have I done?! I didn't want this to happen! Oh Dipper what are we gonna do?! What's Grunkle Stan and Ford gonna say?!"

" I don't know Mabel. But I do know that we have to somehow get her and her bags back to the Mystery Shack so we can properly take care of-"

" -HEY MABEL! DIPPER! WHERE ARE YA DUDES?! MR. PINES HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR YA!"

"Oh great! It's Soos! He can help us carry her back to the Shack! HEY SOOS! WE'RE OVER HERE!"

As Soos came out of the forest all dressed up in his Man of Mystery suit, he greeted the twins like he normally did until he took notice of the woman lying on the ground near them.

"Hey little dudes. Listen, Mr. Pines wanted me to come get ya for...Uh, Dipper. Why is there an unconscious girl on the ground?"

"It was my fault Soos. My grappling hook got jammed again and it ended up hitting this poor woman in the head. And I feel horrible about it. I just hope she's gonna be ok after what I did."

"A grappling hook accident ya say uh? Well let me take a look at her real quick."

Soos went over to the woman and gently began to examine her head with his hands while the Twins watched him with concern. The woman cringed slightly in her sleep when Soos touched her bruise but didn't seem to wake up to it. Soos breathed out a sigh of relief once her finished looking her over.

"No need to panic too much guys. She's just got a minor bump on the head is all. Nothing a little bed rest and an icepack can't cure. Here, I'll help you guys carry her to the Shack and you guys can get her things. The sooner she gets proper care and rest the better."

"Really? That's great to hear! And thanks for offering to help us carry her too."

"Anytime dudes."

"So she's really gonna be ok?"

"I'm sure of it Mabel. But only time will tell if I'm right. Now then, to the Mystery Shack!"

Pretty soon both Soos and the twins were walking back to the Shack with the mystery girl and her luggage in tow. While Soos carried the girl in his arms, the Twins were carrying the bags with some difficulty. The backpack and handbag was one thing for Mabel, but the floral suitcase was a whole other story on Dipper's part.

"Jeez man! This lady sure has one heavy suitcase here! I feel like I'm pulling a boulder here!"

"Oh come on Dip, it can't be that bad."

"Says the one who's carrying the backpack and handbag."

"Touché Bro-Bro. Touché."

"Hey dudes look, we're almost there!"

The Twins looked to find that they were indeed almost to their strange abode in the woods. And pretty soon they were just a few feet away from the shack's entrance, all mentally wondering how they were going to explain this to Stan and Ford. Ford wasn't the kind to just so quickly, but Stan was the other way around. And unfortunately he was the first one to come the door to meet them.

"Hey kids. I'm be been looking for ya and-What the?! What's going on here?! Why is Soos carrying an unconscious woman in his arms?! And what's with all these bags you got here as well?! You three better have a good explanation for all of this!"

The Twins and Soos exchanged worried glances before Dipper decided to speak up.

"Grunkle Stan, I know this looks bad, but I can assure you that there is a good explanation for it all."

And so Dipper, Mabel, and Soos began telling his grouchy great uncle everything that happened from start to finish. From the grappling, to the woman, to finally why they came home with her and her things.

"And well, there ya have it Grunkle Stan."

"So let me get this totally straight here kids. Mabel accidentally shot this unknown woman Soos is now holding with her grappling hook and you decided that you'd bring her back here? What if she's some sort of trouble maker running from the law? Or is some sort of creeper that could hurt you kids when I'm not looking? Did ya ever thought of that idea or concept?"

"Aw come on Mr. Pines, she couldn't possibly be like that. I mean come on, does her looks and outfit even scream evil to you? Also I'm the one who owns the Shack now. Don't I get to make the decisions here?"

Soos held the woman out a bit for Stan to look at better. As Stan took in her appearance, he could see some truth in what Soos had meant. She didn't really seem to look like anyone that would do the things he had said. In fact she seemed kind of fragile looking. Like a porcelain doll that could break if not held with care. And she also looked more like a teenager than an adult. Sure she had the body structure of a young woman, but with an outfit consisting of a light purple shirt, a neon vest, some denim shorts with black stockings, and some hightop Converses, she looked kind of like she was about Wendy's age. She also was sporting a pair of cute nerd glasses with thick, plastic purple frames that made her look kind of adorable. And the red tips at the end of her long brunette hair made her look like someone who also loved to party. But even if she seemed to look harmless, he was wise enough to know that looks can be deceiving.

"Ok, I'll admit, she seems like a nice kid from just looking at her. And it's also true that it's now your business and you call the shots Soos. But we still don't know if she's truely what she appears to be. Ya know what they say, "Ya shouldn't judge a book by it's cover."

"That may be true Grunkle Stan, but how do we know until we actually get to know her? For all we know she might not be as bad as you think."

"Look Mabel, I just don't think we-"

"Please Grunkle Stan. At least let her stay until she wakes up and feels well enough to leave. Plus she's hurt bad and could really use some care right now."

Stan immediately regretted looking into the sweet, sparkling brown eyes of his rosy cheeked great niece. He knew he should stand his ground and say no to her, but how could anyone say no to a face like hers. And she was right about one thing. The woman did seem like she was in need of some help.

"*Sigh* Alright, she can stay and rest on the couch until she wakes up. But I still don't think this is a good idea."

"Yay! Thanks Grunkle Stan you're the best!"

"Don't worry Mr. Pines, we'll take care of her and keep and eye on her as well."

"You better. If she causes any trouble or does even one wrong thing I don't like she's out of here, got it?"

"Yes sir Mr. Pines!"

"Alright then. Now get her and her stuff into the Shack pronto. And fill Melody in on all of this while you're at it. I'll go down and get Ford so he can come up and take a look at that bruise she's got going."

"Don't you worry about a thing Mr. Pines. Me and the little dudes got this covered. Come on guys, let's get this job done!"

And so Stan left and let Soos and the Twins carry both the woman and her things inside by themselves. As he made his way down to the basement to fetch his Poindexter of a brother, he wondered if he did the right thing by letting the woman stay until she was better. He wasn't a total asshole or anything when it came to others in extreme need, but he also didn't want anything to happen to his family if he made any wrong decisions. After thinking about it a bit he decided that he was probably being over dramatic and protective of the Twins. Maybe Mabel was right too. How can ya judge someone without knowing them first? Of course that didn't mean he wasn't gonna keep an eye on her.

"I mean it. One wrong move and she's gone."


	3. Chapter 3: Meeting the Pines

Chapter 3: Meeting the Pines.

Kate's Prov:

"Uuuuuugh...Where the heck am I? And where's the semi trunk that rammed me? Oh good Lord Almighty my head hurts."

As I began to wake up from my unconscious state, I was greeted with a splitting headache the size of the Roosevelt Lake Dam that mainly centered itself on the right side of my forehead. As I lightly touch the spot and began to try and sit up while my eyes were still closed, I immediately regretted making that decision as I was hit by another wave of pain that made me fall back to where I was laying before.

"Ah! Ok, bad idea. I'm not trying that again for a long ass time."

As I layed there with my eyes still closed I jumped a little when I felt something cold hit the painful spot on my head while also feeling a strong hand gently squeeze my shoulder. I of course didn't opened my eyes since I was still feeling dazed and didn't feel like doing much of anything. Of course that didn't mean I wasn't gonna freak out just a little bit.

"Wh-What?! What's going-"

"Sssh. Take it easy now. You've been out for about 2 hours. Just calm down and rest."

The voice sounded a bit gruff but gentle. It also kind of sounded like it belonged to an old man. Since he had a kind sound voice and didn't seem like he was gonna harm me in anyway, I decided to take his advice and see where this situation was heading.

"Who- Who are you? Do you know where I am?"

"Well, to answer your first question, My name is Stanford Pines. You can call me Ford or Mr. Pines for short."

"Heh, Ford huh? I like it."

"And as for where you are, you're in a shack called The Mystery Shack. It's a tourist trap my brother Stan once ran but now his old employee Soos and his fiancé Melody run it. Now then, mind telling me who you are, Miss...?"

"Uh, Collins. Katherine Collins. You can call me Kate for short. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know what happened to me would ya? The last thing I remember were two small forms looking at me with brown eyes."

"Ah yes, my great twin niece and nephew Mabel and Dipper. Well, to tell you the truth Miss Collins, they are kind of why you're in this sort of state in the first place. My great niece Mabel shot you with her grappling hook by accident. You and your belongings were then brought back here by Soos and the twins. I was filled in by my brother Stan who seems to be a bit weary of you at the moment. So as a word of warning please try not to upset him in anyway and don't let him get the best of you with his attitude."

"Wait, you're brother doesn't like me?"

"Well, more like he's being a bit to cautious. But don't worry, as long as you don't cause any trouble you should be fine."

"Ok then. Hey, you wouldn't happen to have any Ibuprofen or something for this headache I got would ya? I feel like someone's smashing the inside of my skull in with a sledgehammer."

"As a matter a fact I do. But before I do that, would it be alright if I take a look at your eyes for a minute? Just to make sure that the blow didn't cause any unwanted problems to your vision."

"Uh, sure I guess. And please, call me Katherine or Kate instead of Miss Collins. Formalities are nice but I perfer to just keep it simple."

I then slowly began to open my eyes and found that the man who called himself Ford was an elderly looking man with dark, fluffy gray hair, glasses with a crack in one of the lens, a red sweater, a long brown coat with a pen it it's pocket, black pants, and black mud covered boots. He was staring down at me with a small smile and a kind look in his brown eyes. I gave a small smile back as I realized that he wa just a kind with his looks as he was in personality so far. Of course was a little bit blurry do to the fact I wasn't wearing my glasses. But thankfully he was close enough to where I didn't have to squint just to make out what he looked like.

"Alright now, let's take a look."

He pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket and examined both my eyes with a quizzical look on his face. The light hurt a bit but I didn't close them since he was trying to check them out for anything bad.

"Uh, are you some sort of doctor or something?"

"Heheheh, no, but I am a scientist. Well, everything seems to be fine. At least the blow didn't hit you hard enough to make you go blind. But that bruised bump you have needs to be watched for a while in case it starts causing you any negative side effects later. Just keep that icepack on your head until the swelling goes down and let me know if you start to feel strange. Here, I'm assuming that you might want to have these back."

He reached over to a small table next to the couch I was laying on, picked up my Candie's Violet colored AC Lens glasses, and held them out for me to take.

"Oh, thanks. Now I can see properly without squinting. So, you're a scientist huh?"

"Yes. A Paranormal investigator to be exact. I came here years ago to study the supernatural activities in and around the different areas of Gravity Falls."

"This town has supernatural activity?"

"Absolutely."

"Like in the movie Beetlejuice and Silent Hill 1 and 2?"

"Beetle- What movie now?"

"Wait, you've never seen Beetlejuice? I mean, I can get you never hearing about the Silent Hill movies, but Beetlejuice? And you're like how old?"

"64. And yes, I've never heard of those films. I study a lot more than I watch movies or television. That and I play "Dungeons, Dugeons, and More Dungeon" with my nephew a lot. Speaking of which, I should ask him if he'd like to play it with me this weekend."

"Aw man! You've got to be the first person I've ever met who's never seen Beetlejuice. You have no idea what ya missed out with that movie. That movie is a classic. Uh, anyway, I guess I should be thanking you for helping me I guess. I just wish I could somehow repay you for it all."

"It's no trouble at all. It's actually been an honor to have met you. Even if it was after such an unfortunate event."

"Oh this old thing? Eh, it's nothing little Ibuprofen and bed rest can't-"

"Grunkle Ford?"

Suddenly me and Ford's conversation was interrupted and we both turned to find a boy with brown hair and eyes standing in the door way. He was wearing a blue and white cap with a pine tree on it, reddish-orange shirt with a navy blue vest, gray shorts, some white socks with a red stripe on each of them, and a pair of black sneakers to complete it all. He looked kind of nervous a bit when he noticed that I was up. In all honest he seemed like a nice kid from my prospective.

"Ah, Dipper. There you are. Come here and meet our guest. Kate, I'd like you to meet my great nephew Dipper. He's the one I've been metioning in our conversation. Dipper, this is Kate."

Dipper began to walk calmly over to where me and Ford were and nervously took his hat off in a respectful kind of way.

"Uh, hi. Um, I'm sorry for what my sister Mabel did early. That grappling hook thing was a complete accident."

As I watched and listened to him talk, I smiled a bit at how cute and shy he was. I also liked that he seemed to have manners that a lot of kids his age didn't always show to others.

"Hey, don't sweat it kid. I'm ok aren't I? Plus it was just an accident. It's not like your sister meant to hurt me. Btw, where is this sister of yours?"

"She's up in her room. She kind of feels bad about what she did and she didn't want to be around in case you were angry when you woke up."

"Me, angry? Over what turned out to be just a minor accident? Heck to the no. Now how bout you go get her and tell her I'd like to talk to her. And tell her not to worry too much. Everything's cool little dude."

"You sure you're not mad at all?"

"Is Norman Reedus the hottest man alive?"

"Uh, I don't really know actually."

"Well I do know! And I also know that I am anything but mad at you and your sister. Now go on and get her while I get some Ibuprofen for this headache of mine."

Dipper smiled a bit after hearing me say those words. I guess he was feeling lucky that I seemed to act more chilled than I was thinking he would have expected after the accident. And I bet that he was also feeling grateful that I was so forgiving and easygoing with him and his sister. Maybe I could learn to like him and his sister. And maybe he and Mabel could learn to like me too after a while.

"Alright then. I'm go grab her. And thanks for being so understanding about all of this."

"Anytime Dip-n-Dots."

"Dip-n-Dots?"

"Yeah man. Like the ice-cream."

"Why Dip-n-Dots though?"

"Cause ya seem like a sweet kid."

I soon saw that Dipper was blushing a bit at my complement. I guess he kind of didn't expect me to call him sweet.

"Well, uh, thanks I guess. I'll be back in a bit with Mabel."

And with that Dipper ran out of the room and left me alone once again with Ford.

"You sure have a awesome great nephew there Ford. He seems like a real upright kind of kid."

"Yes he does. He's also quite intelligent as well for his age. He reminds me a lot of when I was his age."

As I listened to him talk, I decided to take another good look at him while he spoke since I now had my glasses on. I ended up stopping short with my observing in slight shock when I took notice of his hands. Both hands had six fingers on each hand. It was probably one the most strange yet unique things I had ever seen in my life. And that's coming a lot from someone who likes to read Ripley's Believe It Or Not books now and then.

"Is something wrong?"

I was snapped out of my amazed state when I heard Ford speak to me and soon looked up to find him staring at me with a confused look. I felt a little embarrassed that I was caught staring at his hands.

"Um, no, it's nothing at all really."

"It's my hands isn't it?"

"Well-I-Uh-I-kind a-sort of-"

"It's quite alright really. I'm used to others shocked reactions to my postaxial polydactyly at this point. They can be rather strange to for some to look at."

"Well, I'll be honest with you, they're something I've never really seen before. But they also kind of make ya stand out from others in kind of a positive way. I mean, how many people can say they have six fingers on each hand? And if there is one thing I've learned in my twenty one years of living, it's that sometimes things are better when they're a rarity. Plus between you and me, I know how it feels to be looked at strangely too."

Ford gave me a surprised look when I said that.

"You? But you don't seem all that strange looking to me. If anything you like a normal young adult."

"Well maybe to you I do, but where I'm from being different made it impossible for me to make friends and to get a decent job. I don't know what it was that others back home saw in me, but it must of been something that they didn't like. Which is why I decided to come here. I thought maybe coming here would help me get a decent job and if possible a few good friends."

"Sounds like you're having a bit of a hard time then. And where did you say you were from?"

"Arizona."

"Interesting. I would of guessed you'd be from somewhere up state where it's colder with a light complexion like yours."

"Well, I kind of try to stay out of the hot desert sun since I'm Irish/German. I have fair skin and I end up burning easily if I stay out in it for too long. Plus the sun makes the whole world there feel like a bakery oven in the summer."

"Hmm, I suppose both those reasons make sense. At least here you won't have to worry too much about the sun beating down on you in this kind of environment."

"Tell me about it. The air up here feels like a normal summer temperature I could live with. And with all the trees here I fee-"

"I AM SO SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

I was interrupted once again when an upset looking girl with brown eyes came running into the room and engulfing me in a small bear hug. She wasn't strong enough to suffocate me but she did make the soreness in my muscles hurt more. Thankfully she stopped when Dipper came running into the room after her.

"Take it easy on her Mabel! She's still in pretty bad shape!"

Mabel released me from her hold and looked up at me with tears in her eyes. I swear the look was making me feel like I just kicked a coyote puppy.

"I'm really sorry ma'am. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was only trying to get my grappling hook to work. Oh please forgive me."

I kept my wide eyed stare on Mabel the whole time she spoke. From the sound in her voice I could easily tell she wanted me to forgive her. After hearing what she said I gave her a warm and reassuring smile.

"It's ok Mabel. I know you didn't mean it. Accidents happen right?"

"*sniffs* So does that mean you forgive me?"

"Of course I do. Only a total jerk would hold a dumb grudge like that. Plus you seem like a pretty swell kid."

The next thing I knew she was hugging me again with less pressure to my relief and quickly thanking me more times than I could possibly count. And even though she wasn't squeezing hard this time, she still kept my arms trapped in her hold to where I could only give her a smile and a small pat on the back as she continued to show her gratitude to me.

"So you finally decide to join the living huh kid?"

I looked up from Mabel to see another elderly man leaning up against the living room doorway with his arms crossed and staring at me with an unamused look on his face. He seemed to look a lot like Ford expected for his hair style and color. He also seemed to have a bit more of a need to shave than Ford did. He was wearing a green sweater, a dark gray zip up jacket, a red beanie hat, black pants, and a pair of brown work boots similar to what my dad wears a lot. To say that his mean, disapproving stare at me was nerve racking would of been an understatement at best.

"What's the matter kid? Cat got your tongue?"

"Um, no. I can speak just fine thank you Mr...?"

"Pines. I'm that Poindexter's brother and the one who used to own this junk heap. And I'm telling you right now that if you even try anything with me or my family you're gonna find yourself kicked out that front door faster than you can count to 10. I may no longer be the boss this place, but that doesn't mean I won't hesitate to kick a trouble maker like you to the curb if necessary. So do we understand each other?"

As I carefully listened to Stan's warning, I started to feel a small bit of hatred towards him as soon as he pretty much told me his inner thoughts on me and what not. Never the less, I knew I needed to keep my cool and try to be civil with him for however long I had to.

"Crystal, sir."

"Good. Now that's out of the way, I'm gonna go scam some tourists outside. Let me know if _"anything"_ happens."

Oooooh! Now this wisecracker really knew how to push my buttons. That "anything" part nearly through me over the edge and had me fighting with every ounce of will power I had to hold in my growing anger as I watched him leave the room with a look that would of killed him 13 times over if possible.

"Hey lady, are you ok?"

I snapped out of my angered daze and looked right at Mabel who was no longer hugging me but was now looking at me with a concern look in her eyes. Her brother and great uncle Ford were looking at me a bit with the same expression that also had bits of confusion laced in them as well.

"Yeah Mabel, I'm fine. I'm just a bit on edge with your other uncle though. And my name is Kate by the way if you weren't informed."

"Kate huh? So your real must be Katherine then! I like it! It fits!"

"Thanks, my dad picked it."

Ford was about to speak up again when all of a sudden a large looking young man carrying an cane with an eight ball on it and wearing a strange vintage suit came into the room with a big smile on his face.

"Hey dudes! I heard the mystery lady just woke up so I decided to come and meet her. And this be her I presume. Hi there, the names Soos. I'm the new Man of Mystery and owner of the Mystery Shack here! It's always great to meet a new face like yours."

I couldn't help but laugh a bit as he reached a hand out for me to shake. As I shook it I knew that Soos was another awesome individual in this town that I could grow to like.

"Like wise Mr. Soos. My name is Kate by the way. Thank you so much for bringing me back here after that accident. And I'm sorry if I've any trouble for you and your business in any way.

"Nah, it's totally cool dude. At least it's good to know you're ok and stuff."

"And I'll be even better once I get something for this headache I still have."

"Oh of course the pills! I completely forgot about them in all of this greeting and warning nonsense! I'll go and get them for you right now Kate."

"Thank you Ford. I really appreciate it."

Once Ford left the room I decided to lay back down on the couch and rest a bit more while Soos and the younger Pine Twins gathered around to talk to me some more. Mabel of course talked and asked questions more than Soos and Dipper did, but I was ok with it. She reminded me of when I was her age really. And back then I too was a very chatty kid like her. They all asked me a few questions about who I was, where I came from, and why did I come here that I answered the best that I could. When they heard I was from Arizona they asked me questions on just about everything the state was about. I couldn't answer all of them, but a few questions like what the state bird or flower was were questions that anyone from AZ would know. They also told me a bit about themselves as well while we talked. They told me things like how Dipper and Mabel were from Piedmont, California and how Soos was now engaged to his girlfriend Melody. And if that wasn't the cherry on the top then Mabel introducing me to her adorable pet pig Waddles sure was. After about 6 minutes of chatting with them, Ford had finally managed to find some Ibuprofen and a bottle of water for me to drink. As I took the pills and drank the water, Dipper asked me a question I wasn't quite prepared for.

"So Kate, now that you're here in Gravity Falls, where do you plan on staying?"

I stopped drinking and looked surprised at him for a moment as I thought quietly for a few moments. Where I was going to stay was quite a puzzler to say the least.

"Well, I was planning on staying in a motel room until I saved enough money for my own place to live in. Since I don't have any family here and I'm kind of tight on cash at the moment, that's the only other option I have."

"So you seriously on your own here?"

"Yup. It's just me and me alone in this town."

Dipper was about to say something else when Mabel quietly interrupted him to whipser something to him that I couldn't quite make out. After that she then grabbed Dipper and Ford over to another part of the room away from with Soos following behind them. As soon as they were a good distance away they huddled up and started to whisper things to eachother that I couldn't make out at all. What on Earth could they possibly be talking about? Did I say something weird? After a few moments of constant whispering I was finally answered by the sound of Soos' excited voice.

"Sounds like a great plan to me dudes?"

"What sounds like a great plan? What's going on with you guys?"

"Kate, after a brief discussion we just had, how would you like to work and stay here in the Shack with us?"

I felt like the world around me had stopped for a moment when I heard Soos say those words. What he seriously offering me a job? And all before even properly interviewing me and getting a background check? This had to be some kind of sick joke!

"M-Me? Work and stay here? At the Mystery Shack? Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! Why, don't you want it?"

"Yes! Yes, I do want it! It's just that this is all kind of sudden for me. I mean you haven't even properly interviewed me yet. How do you even know I'd be cut out for the job?"

"Eh, I don't really. But after talking to ya and getting to know you a bit, I think you're a pretty decent person to hire."

"And staying here as well is ok too? Do you even have enough room here for another person?"

"Well, we don't _exactly_ have a room completely ready for guests at the moment, but the attic is a pretty good place to stay if you're interested. All we'd have to do is set up an inflatable mattress for you to sleep on until we can get you a proper bed to see on."

Staying here? Working here? My own sleep space and possibly a bed of my own in the future? Now I knew this had to be too good to be true!

"And all this was your idea?"

"Actually it was Mabel's idea really. She really thinks you'd be a great help here if you join."

I looked down surprisingly at the sweet little sweater wearing brunette beaming up hopefully at me with a sparkly brace toothed smile. This kid was so cute to look at that she could probably give Pikachu a run for his money.

"So this was your idea huh MabelSyrup?"

"Yup! Dipper and Grunkle Ford thought it was a great idea too once I fully explained it all to them."

I looked up for a moment at the boy and old man to see them giving me reassuring nods of approval that I returned back.

"And what makes you think I could even have what it takes to have this job?"

"You're nice, funny, have great taste when it comes to fashion, and you've got gutts to journey so far from home just to come here of al places. If that doesn't scream "I'm Work Ready" then I don't know what does! Plus what job could be more simple than a tourist trap one? Oh please say yes to this and stay! I really like you! Please please please? I'LL GIVE YOU MY BLOOD!"

I jumped back a bit in shock at Mabel blood offering thing, but quickly calmed down after remembering that she was a hyper kind of kid and started to think for a few moments. Let's see. I was being offered a place to work and sleep by a strangely dressed man who lives with his fiancé, two elderly men (And sadly one of them hates me at the moment),two cute 13 year old twins, and a pet pig to top it all off. It all really did sound too good to be true, but then again maybe this could be what I was looking for. Still...

"Ok look. This all sounds like a great offer and all, and I've really appreciated all you've done to help me get better, but I can't really decide rather to except it or not at the moment. Is it ok if I sleep on it for now?"

"Sure dude. I guess that is a lot to take in after everythings that's happened to you today. And you're welcomed to stay the night here if ya want. It's starting to get late and the walk to town might be pretty long with the heavy luggage you have."

I looked up at the nearby clock to see that it was already 5:23 in the evening. How long was I out again? 2 hours?

"Are ya sure about that? I'd really hate to oppose on you. And what about that Stan character? Won't he get upset if I stay?"

"You don't have to worry about my brother Kate. I'll brief him on the situation later. Plus you don't have to be scared of him. He may be a tough Ox, but he's actually not that horrible once you get to know him better."

"Plus you staying here wouldn't be any trouble at all. BTW, hope ya like Italian, cause Melody is cooking up some of her famous Fettuccine Alfredo for dinner tonight."

Did he just say Fettuccine Alfredo? Ok, maybe staying here for one night might not be such a bad idea.

"Well, I do like my pasta every now and then. And if you're really ok with it then I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay the night."

"REALLY?! YOU'RE STAYING THE NIGHT?! WHOOHOO! THIS GONNA BE SO MUCH FUN!"

As I watched Mabel joyfully run around the room, I felt something inside me that made me smile a bit that I hadn't felt in a while. Of course that ended when something important crossed my mind.

"Oh wait! Where exactly did you say my luggage was again?"

"They're in the store next to the cash register. Melody offered to watch them while you slept so nobody would try and take anything out of them."

"Oh good, that's a relief. I guess I better take my things upstairs then since I'm feeling a lot better now. Hey Mabel! Dipper! You guys wanna come up with me and see what kind of treasures I got in my bags?"

"Are you kidding?! We'd love too! Right Dipper?"

"Sure I guess. I'm kind of interested in seeing what kind of movies you have in the duffle bag you have."

"Well, while you kids do that, I'll go and have a chat with Stanely about all of this. Let me know if you need anything."

"We will. And thank you."

"And while you dudes are busy I'm gonna go see how dinner's coming along. I'll come get ya when it's ready."

"Hey Soos?"

"Yeah Kate?"

"Thank you for all of this. This is a kind of generosity that I don't normally come across. You guys are really something."

"Heh, no problem dude. Now if you'll excuse me, I got a dinner to check out. See ya in a bit!"

And with that I was left alone with Dipper and Mabel to start moving and exploring through my luggage. They really did enjoy seeing all the things I had brought from my home state. Dipper liked the many types of movies and music I had in my duffle bag and IPod while Mabel adored my outfits and makeup products. And by the time we were called for dinner I was already starting to consider saying "yes" to the job. And from how I had managed to get such get friends like Soos and The Pines made me realize that Gravity Falls was now for sure my new home. My true home.


	4. Chapter 4: The Stone Triangle

Chapter 4: The Stone Triangle!

Kate's Pov:

Dinner that night was actually pretty decent aside from Stanely giving me the evil eye all through out it. Ford had spoken to him before hand about me staying the night here like he promised he would and had somehow gotten him to agree after a bit of rough talking in the living room. But even after a bit of arguing with Ford until he finally agreed, that still didn't mean he was truely happy with me staying. I had decided while I ate that I would take up Soos job offer, but decided to wait until the next morning to tell him and the others the good news. When I told him and the others after getting some breakfast and was well showered and dressed, everyone was happy and full of joy to have me come aborad except for old Stanely Pines. And to my disappointment he didn't hesitate to tell me when he pulled me suddenly into the shop in a rough manner to talk to me.

"Listen here you! I don't care if Soos is the boss now and everyone here seems to find you all swell and peachy! I won't hesitate to kick you out here if you do " _anything"_ to cause trouble!"

"Why are you being so cold to me?! I'm not trying to be your enemy here ya know! I'm pretty much just a kid that's down on her luck in finding work! I'm not here to hurt you or anyone else here so why don't you just back off already?!"

"Yeah well, you're gonna have a lot to prove to me before I can truely dub you worthy to even trust let alone like! So you better keep your nose clean and keep whatever attitude ya got in line! Got it girly?!"

I began to get both slightly annoyed and scared of him as he squeezed my arm a bit and looked down at me with his firey brown eyes. Jeez lou-fucking-ise! Did he really have it out for me that badly or something? I wasn't read"y to get into a fight that morning with the grouchy geezer, so instead of giving him smack talk I simply gave him a nod of agreement that was accompanied by a glare that if it was able to kill would of made Stanley die a dozen times over. And I mean a bakers dozen at best. As soon as he released me from his hold to go outside to help Soos with some boxes, I brushed off my attitude and went up to the roof where Mabel and Dipper were hanging. Soos told me that since it was the weekend and that I still had a huge, sore bruise on my head that I could use the time to heal up until the work week came back around. Dipper said he wanted to help Ford with his werewolf footprint study so he decided to take Mabel up to the roof to do so in peace. As I made my up there, I decided to try and have a little fun with them by giving them a bit of a jump scare. Once I made it to the attic, I creeped up slowly and peeped out the window without being seen to see Dipper looking at some photos while Mabel was petting her pig Waddles. _"Oh this is gonna be so awesome!"_ I thought with a grin of mischievous glee. I crept closer and closer to the window until...

"BREAK YOURSELF FOOL!"

"AAAAAAH!"

"AAH! WHOA! PLOP! OW! KATE!"

The next thing I knew, Mabel was looking at me with shocked eyes while hugging her pet pig for dear life and Dipper was sitting his butt next to a small table looking at me with anger for the jump scare I gave him and his sister. The sight was absolutely glorious!

"Hahahahahahahahaha! Oh dear God! You two make it too easy! Hahahahahaha! Oh I'm gonna have a heart attack!"

"Hahaha! Good one Kate!"

"Yeah yeah, it was great. Now if you're done missing around can I please finish this up?"

"Alright fine. No more pranks from me for now. So, how is that "werewolf research" coming along anyway?"

"So far so good actually. I think these foot prints and these photos of some werewolves the hidden forest cameras picked up are really helpful in the study. If we crack this investigation then we might be able to get a glimpse inside a werewolf's nursery den for the first time ever in human history."l

"Sounds like a pretty big scientific deal then. I just hope you and Ford know what you're doing."

I went over to sit at the roof's edge where Mabel was sitting and began to pet Waddles who oinked at me with joy. I've always had a thing for cute and cool looking animals since I was a kid. And if there was one thing Waddles was he was absolutely as the Japanese would say "kawaii".

"Don't worry about a thing Kate. My brother and Grunkle Ford totally know exactly what they're doing. If they didn't then Gravity Falls would probably still be having a Weird-"

"-Mabel! Don't tell her that!"

Wait, Weird what? Now I was absolutely confused. What did Dipper not want Mabel to tell me? Something was totally up and I wanted to know what it was.

"Don't tell me what Dipper?"

"Uuuuh...Nothing that's...important really."

"Dipper? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Both Dipper and Mabel froze and looked at eachother with unsure glances. Ok, now I knew something was definitely up if they were getting nervous.

"Dip?"

"Well um-ya see Kate-the truth is-"

"-THE TOWN HAD A WEIRD GHOST PROBLEM LAST YEAR!"

I turned suddenly to look over at Mabel after the outburst about the "ghost infestation" they never told me happen last year.

"A weird ghost problem? That's what you didn't want to tell me?"

"Um, yeah! It was a real weird and chaotic one too. It took Dipper and Grunkle Ford hours to clear it up. Right Dipper."

"Huh?-I mean, yes! Yes, it was a real problem to take care of. Ghost are pretty tricky and unpredictable."

The whole ghost town thing Dipper and Mabel were telling me sounded a bit suspicious to me. Like some sort of cover up for something much bigger than again, with Ford saying that this town has some super natural beings and creatures in and around it, I guess the story doesn't sound too unbelievable. Plus maybe I was just being a little paranoid after the talk Stan gave me.

"Well, I guess that does sound pretty believable with the paranormal activity Ford said the town has. But why didn't you want to tell me?"

"Cause we just didn't want to scare you off so soon ya know! Ya know how it is! Ya say one dumb thing like "ghosts" or "zombies" to a town newbie and WHAM! They're gone before ya even know it."

"That actually does make sense. Of course any "normal" person would do that of course. But if there is one thing you guys will learn quickly about me, it's that I'm not totally normal. And I'm also not a fraidy cat when it comes to things like ghosts, zombies, werewolves, ect. So don't hesitate to tell me stuff like that ok? And I promise you guys that I'm not gonna run back home and leave you. Come snow, rain, sleet, or even your Grunkle Stan's untrusting attitude towards me."

"He's still giving you a hard time huh?"

"*sighs* Yeah. But hey, it's not really a problem. I'm sure he'll warm up to me eventually. Especially when he sees me at work on Monday. I am gonna show him and Soos what I'm truely made of."

"Alright then. Hey, wanna go make some sweaters with me? Maybe making him a sweater will better help you gain his trust."

"Thanks Mabel, but I think I'm actually gonna go for a walk look around at the forest a bit. Since I'm gonna be living here I feel that I should try to familiarize myself with the town and it's forest so that I can feel more at home with it all. Does the idea ta a later date sound fine to you?"

"Sure. But if ya do go into the woods you should stay close to the Shack if you're going alone. There's a lot of weird things out there ya know."

"I'll keep that in mind. Well, I guess I'm heading out then. If you're Grunkles ask where I am just tell them I went for a walk and I'll be back before lunch. See ya guys."

"Bye Kate!"

And with that I climbed back through the window and made my way down to the Shack's front door. It was unfortunate that I didn't stay up in the attic long enough to hear the Twins talk about what really happened last summer in Gravity Falls though.

* * *

Mabel and Dipper Pov:

"Aaaw! I feel so bad for lying to Kate, Bro Bro! Why can't we tell her the truth?! I'm sure she'd understand!"

"We can't Mabel. We promised Ford we wouldn't tell anyone from outside Gravity Falls about what happened here last summer including our own parents. If others found out about it then that could cause some serious trouble for us and the town. Plus it's best if we try to forget about it all together. Even the towns people don't talk about it anymore. Have you heard our friends talk about it even once since we got here?"

"No, I guess not. But why can't we tell her? Maybe she's different than other people. Plus you heard what she said about not being totally normal. Couldn't we just tell her and make her promise not to tell as well?"

"Sorry Mabel, but we can't risk it right now. I'll talk to Ford and see what I can do about it, but until then we can't tell her the truth."

Mabel sighed in sad defeat and sat back down with Waddles. She then saw Kate running out the front door wearing a pair of blue headphones with a cord sticking out of a Walking Dead backpack that also had a red and black metal baseball bat sticking out of it. She saw Kate turn around and wave up at her with a smile on her face. Mabel of course gave her the same jester, but as soon as Kate turned around and ran out of sight, her face fell back into a sad expression. She really wished she could tell Kate the truth.

* * *

Kate's Pov:

After waving goodbye to Mabel from below, I dashed out of there like there was no tomorrow. I couldn't wait to see what this place had to see and do. And if this place really did have supernatural things residing within then maybe living here would be kind of an adventure for me. As a kid I've always found weird and scary things to be fascinating. I do have a good eye when it comes to beauty as well. When most little girls wanted to watch Barbie movies or dress up as princesses and fairies for Halloween, I would rather hang with my dad and watch movies like The Shining or Independents Day and dress up as Spider-Man, a zombie, or the Pink Power Ranger. Of course that was one of the many reasons that the kids at school didn't like me a lot for too since I didn't always acted or behaved like the girls did. And if not being liked by the girls was bad, I was absolutely and flat out not liked at all by the boys. I did hang with the girls sometimes, but sometimes I was more fascinated with whatever the boys were doing and kind of wanted to be more like one of them. But whenever I wanted to do what the boys did like tennis ball wall bouncing or extreme football, they would tell me that I was just a weak little girl and that doing what they were doing was something I couldn't do or would get me hurt. I also had two siblings who were pretty alright. But when Tamara decided to go live in California with my aunt, I only had my younger brother, sometimes my half brothers, and my dad to hang with. My mom wasn't exactly the best of company to be honest. In fact I think I favored being around my dad more than her. Of course once things in my family's life went south and I was put into foster care at the age of 11, I never saw my mother again and only got to see my dad once in a while. My brother was also put into care and was got adopted by another family, but once he was adopted I couldn't see him anymore after that. And as for my sister, she grew up and had a family of her own along with my half bros. As for me, I never got adopted. I decided to stay a foster kid for old sentimental family reasons. I stayed with my foster family for a long while and they were pretty great to me. And when I graduated and was old enough to make my own choices, I went out into the city and went job hunting. College was an option for me, but I decided I had enough schooling in my lifetime since school was never a cheerful thing for me really. The only three subjects I ever really liked was history, lunch, and recess. I know the last two aren't really subjects, but I don't really care at this point. Which brings us to where I am now.

I soon slowed my run to a walk I looked around at all the pine trees and other kinds of plant life that was around me. I also saw a few rabbits and squirrels either run by me or up a tree a few times too. Of course those were nothing really new to me. Back home we had Jack Rabbits and Desert Squirrels that you could see if you went walking down a desert hiking trail. Of course this place probably wouldn't see things like Gila monsters, Javelinas, red tailed Hawks, Coyotes, Bobcats, or even Diamondback Rattlesnakes. It would probably be more like bears, deer, wolves, mountain lions, and probably a few squirrels and rabbits. Which was fine for me really. And at least none of them were poisonous like some of the AZ animals were. As I continued walking for a bit I decided to pull my IPod out and put on a cheery, let's have fun kind of song from it. After scrolling through my massive collection of musical vibes I came across a song that was perfect for such a great day like this. I pressed play and my walking soon turned into a playful dance kind of walk as I lost myself in the song.

"Burning Up" by Marianas Trench

"Been dead as a disco

With a foot in grave

One thing that you missed though

Baby I'm new wave

Is it bad enough, is it bad enough to call it off?

Let's turn up the heat we gotta get back up

One minute you need me and the next we're stuck

Is it bad enough, is it bad enough to call it off?

Oh, who you are, what you do,

What you need, what's the use?

Hold me now

I can't help but want you too

Don't say you don't miss me that much

Don't say I don't still make you blush

Cause my ears are burning, my ears are burning up

Sometimes you can't yell loud enough

Sometimes a whisper's just too much

Now my ears are burning, my ears are burning up

Too hot to handle gotta like it rough

Too much of a scandal when the going gets tough

Is it bad enough, is it bad enough to call it off?

Just an innuendo, only gets obscene

I just want a crescendo and a killer queen

Since when's that bad enough to call it off?

Oh who you are, what you do,

What you need, what's the use?

Hold me now

I can't help but want you too

Don't say you don't miss me that much

Don't say I don't still make you blush

Cause my ears are burning, my ears are burning up

Sometimes you can't yell loud enough

Sometimes a whisper's just too much

Now my ears are burning, my ears are burning up

Who you are, what you do,

What you need, what's the use?

Hold me now

I can't help but want you too

(Can't help but want you)

Don't say you don't miss me that much

(Don't ya)

Don't say I don't still make you blush

(Don't ya)

Cause my ears are burning my ears are burning up

(Don't ya)

Sometimes you can't yell loud enough

(Don't ya)

Sometimes a whisper's too much

(Don't ya)

My ears are burning, my ears are burning up

Don't say you don't miss me that much

Don't say I don't still make you blush

Cause my ears are burning, my ears are burning up

Sometimes you can't yell loud enough

Sometimes a whisper's too much

My ears are burning, my ears are burning, burning up"

When song ended I stopped, took off my headphones, and took a bit of a breatherwhile also taking a look around at where my footloosed feet had taken me. I wasn't too far from the Shack so the staying close to home rule was pretty much still being followed. I was about to head back when something I saw in a dim clearing through some trees had caught my attention. I couldn't really make out at first since it was sort of shadowy looking, but I could tell it had a small bit of a triangular shape to it. As I slowly made my way into the shadowy clearing to get a better look, I soon found that it was a strange triangular stone statue covered with some flowers and plant life.

"Whoa. This is amazing. I've never seen a statue like this before. I wonder why you're all alone here in the dark though?"

I then began to circle and examine the statue to try and figure out what it was. As I looked it over, I found that it had a triangle, brick like form with only one eye and two thin looking arms. It was also sporting a fancy top hat and a cute little bow tie as well. After making my full examination I looked at it's eye and smiled at it.

"Well, you don't seem like any mystical creature I've ever heard of, but I can at least tell that you seemed to be a gentleman from the posh looking top hat and bowtie your sporting."

The only response I got was dead silence from him. Which was fine since I knew it was only a statue. I laughed a bit and decided to introduce myself to him in a polite way just for fun.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Where are my manners today? Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Katherine Collins of Queen Creek, Arizona. It is quite an honor to meet you on such a fine day as this my dear sir."

As I said this I bowed in a respectful and gentleman like way to him. I would of curtsied but since I don't really wear dresses I decided I wouldn't do that since I didn't want to look stupid even in front of an inanimate object.

"Hmm, I wonder if there's some kind of engraving on you that can tell me who or what you are and what you stand for."

I got a little closer to the statue to tried and find any kind of engraved writing or symbol on it to find out just what this guy was for. But as soon as I put my hand on it, I suddenly felt a strong and strange vibration of some kind of electrical energy wash over me from head to toe that caused me to cry out a bit and fall back on my seat.

"Augh! PLOP!"

After falling and trying to regain my strength, my head sort of felt a little dizzy a fuzzed up a bit from the strange sensation.

"Ugh. What the hell just happened? Man my head feels weird."

I put a hand to my head while I tried to figure out what could of came over me. After remembering the accident from yesterday, I came to the conclusion that I must have pushed myself to hard in some sort of way and my body was telling me that I should go home and rest. As soon as I felt well enough to get up and head back, I turned to say goodbye the strange statue.

"Hey look, sorry to cut this visit short, but I'm kind of not feeling well and I think I should be heading back now. I promise to come and see you again though. Bye."

Once I had left my new stoned friend, I suddenly started to feel unnaturally tired as I kept walking. I told myself that after I had some lunch that I should go a catch a few Zs to help with the tiredness and speed up the healing that my body was still doing. Once I made it back to the Shack I was greeted by Mabel and Dipper who soon took noticed of my tired expression. I didn't tell them about the statue since I wanted that place to be a special place I could go to if I ever needed alone time, but I did tell them that I was walking and soon felt a strange dizzy feeling shoot through me and how I started to feel tired on my way back. Dipper told me that I should probably go rest up after I ate some lunch while Mabel suggested that I drink an energy drink she had invented called "Mabel Juice". I went with Dipper's idea after I saw the stuff she was talking about. It was kind of pink like pink lemonade with a small bit of a KoolAid kind of red to it and had things like plastic dinos and what looked like glitter floating in it that made me kind of weary of what it would do to my head and insides if I were to ingest it. After eating lunch with them I excused myself and went upstairs to my attic bedroom to sleep. At that point I was pretty much so tired that I didn't bother to kick my shoes off or remove my vest. Once I had settled onto my inflatable mattress and had covered myself up in my warm blanket, I slowly closed my eyes and let the sweet and peaceful darkness of blissful sleep take me.


	5. Chapter 5: Welcome to the Dreamscape!

Chapter 5: Welcome to the Dreamscape

Kate's Dream Pov:

I slowly opened my eyes to find that I was now standing in the middle of a very familiar Arizona desert area that was full of mesquite trees, tumble weeds, saguaro and teddy bear cacti. Not only that but I also saw a few cute looking Jack Rabbits resting under a near by mesquite tree as if they didn't even care if I was there. Which I found to be a little weird since Jack Rabbits usually run away when someone or thing gets too close or makes a sudden move or noise that scares them. But the Jack Rabbit thing wasn't what was weirding me out the most. It was how I even ended up back home when just moments ago I had just fell asleep at the Mystery Shack in Gravity Falls, Oregon. I then started to wish for somebody to give me a straight answer to this strange scenario I was somehow now in.

 **"If you're looking for answers dollface, then I think I know a guy who can help ya."**

I jumped a bit in fear at the sudden and strange sounding voice that had just spoken to me. I began to look around for the one that voice belonged to but found that no one was even here to my fearful disappointment.

"Who-who's there? What do you want from me?"

 **"Yeesh kid** **relax will ya? I just wanna have a friendly chat with you."**

"Wait. What? Why do you wanna talk to me? Just who are you anyway? And more importantly where are you?"

 **"Why don't you turn around and find out?"**

I turned around suddenly and froze in surprised wide eyed shock at what I saw. It looked just like the stone triangle man I had found on my walk earlier before lunch. Only now he was no longer made of stone. In fact he now seemed to have a lot more color to him. His brick like triangular form was now a nice glowing yellow that made me thing of the Yellow Brick Road from The Wiz movie. His eye was white with a black cat-like pupil and now had long black eyelashes adoring it. He also had two black thin looking arms and legs and was even wearing the same top hat and bowtie that were also black. He was truely an amazing sight to behold. He was floating a few feet away from me for a couple of moments before coming closer to get a better look at me.

 **"Well, well, well. Aren't you quite a sight for sore "eye". Names Bill Cipher toots, and I take it you're some kind of wannabe rockstar? Hahahaha! I'm just kidding I know who you are Katherine."**

"Wh-What? What are you? And how do you know my name?"

 **"Oh I know lots of things. _LOTS OF THINGS..._ Hey, look what I can do."**

Bill then started making different movements with his hand that caused a nearby rock to float and come towards him. I watched in pure amazement as he then used both his hands that were glowing with some sort of magic or energy to turn the normal rock into a sparkling, green gemstone that he dropped into my hands when he finished.

 **"Here Road Runner, have this emerald as a peace offering. It's also your birthstone right? So that makes it even more specia! Plus I think it really does help bring out the green color in your hazel eyes."**

"Uh, yeah it-wait a minute. Road Runner?"

 **"Yup! It goes great with how you like to run from things in your life that cause you heartache and discomfort. You're also always looking for others to understand you and treat you like you like you actually have a purpose in the world. Plus you sometimes find running or walking to be a good stress reliever, especially if you do it with a friend or family member."**

Ok, this guy was so accurate with describing me that I felt a bit uncomfortable. How he possibly know so much about me? Was he some kind of stalker or something? But then I suddenly remembered what had happened back in the woods at the clearing. When I touched the statue I felt a strange wave of energy pass through me. Could he have somehow entered my mind when I touched it.

 **"Well aren't you a smart one. Yes Runner, I did enter your mind when you touched my stone, cold prison. And I remember the whole thing too. By the way, I find you to be pretty amazing looking yourself toots."**

"What the-DID YOU JUST READ MY THOUGHTS?!"

 **"I sure did sweetcakes. I'm kind of what you'd call the master of the mind. I'm capable of entering and reading the minds and thoughts of other beings when they fall sleep. It just one of the many perks of being an eternal dream explorer."**

At that point I was now blushing pretty hard from having my private thoughts being peeped at by this thing and from all the sweet pet names he was calling me while wearing the most shocked look I had ever made in my 21 years of living. I was about to scream at him and drown him with so many angered filled questions before deciding that I'd probably get a lot more from him with some sweet honey that with a bunch of sour vinegar.

"Well, could you not do that please? It's kind of uncomfortable if you're looking through it without me being ok with it."

 **"Eh, fair enough I guess. But if you're interested would ya like to know the exact date and time of your death?"**

"Um, no thanks really. But I do have a few questions."

 **"Sure kid. What is it?"**

"Well for one, I still wanna know where I am, and two, what's a dream explorer?"

 **"Ah, both excellent questions indeed. Here, have a seat and I'll explain everything. How about a game of Interdimensional Chess while we talk? Have a cup of tea."**

Before I knew it I had accidentally dropped the emerald he gave me and was soon sitting in a floating chair above the desert ground with a chessboard in front of me and holding a teacup full of tea. As he spoke to me I listened carefully to him as he explained that I was in a place called the Dreamscape and that right now everything around me was just apart of my vast imagination as he cheerfully put. In fact he said my imagination was so great and amazing that he was surprised how I even still kept touched with reality with all the daydreaming I do. I was so flattered by his complaints that I almost didn't hear him when he asked why I hadn't made my move on the chessboard yet. That's when I realized that I forgot tell him that I had no idea how to play. After telling him that I've never even played normal chess I felt my face heat up a bit from embarrassment. He of course just laughed, told me it was no big deal, and then offered to teach me while we talked. Of course he kind of did most of the talking since I was too amazed and excited to do much of it. As he continued to speak and show me how to play, he then moved on to what a dream explorer was. Technically he said that a dream explorer were mythical beings that were created eons ago by the forces of pure light and harmony to go out exploring in the vast and seemingly never ending dreamscape and help stop horrid nightmarish creatures they came across like the blood and strength sucking Liderc or the hope crushing Baku from harming and a lot times even killing mortal beings of other worlds. They were also kind of made to help give mortal beings sweet dreams and would befriend a lot of them if the explorer came across a being that was very heartbroken, lonely, and misunderstood my their own kind in the waking world they lived in. He of course was one these many beings within the dreamscape and was known as one of the best dream explorers to all and was even loved by mortal beings who had come to know him throughout universal history. But then one a while back, the nightmarish creatures had had enough of Bill a planned to try and put a stop to their cruel fun once and for all. So they found a dark ancient spell that was designed to turn and imprison any dream being in a stone form for all eternity and used it on him. Since then he was felt to rot in that lonely statue form in the real world for so many years. Of course Bill was an all knowing kind of dream explorer and knew that the spell the nightmare creatures used could be somewhat broken if a mortal being with a pure enough mind, heart, and soul were to touch his stone form and allow him to enter with or without their knowledge. Unfortunately since the spell would only be partly broken, Bill would be stuck in the mind of the mortal being until he could figure out how a way to find a spell that would probably require that the being had to willingly help him or if the being died and he would then have to return to the statue and wait for the next one to come along. And that's pretty much how we both ended up here together.

 **"And thanks to you Road Runner, I'm one step closer to breaking the spell permanently and returning to my other dream friends. You have no idea how much I appreciate being freed by you."**

"Heh, well Bill, it does sound like you've been through a lot. And I would hate for you to to have to go back into the horrible thing. That prison isn't where you belong at all. And if I could, I'd dropkick all of those nightmare creeps into a giant blender full of yogurt and ice, blend them all up, and feed it to a pack of half starving wolves for what they did you. And if there is anything I can do to help you in breaking the rest of this spell you let me know and I'll do whatever I can to help you."

 **"You'd really do all that stuff just for me? You're simply too kind to me toots. And thanks for the support on the whole spell breaking thing as well. Unfortunately right now I don't exactly know how to break it yet. I'd use my infinite knowledge of the universe to do so, but after being stuck for so long in that stoned prison my powers have been weakened a bit. So for now I think I'll stay here and rest up for a while if it's alright with you. I'd really hate to impose and all if it isn't."**

"Oh no, no! It's fine if you stay really. Plus like you said, you're trapped here anyway until you can break the spell permanently or I somehow die right? And if that's the case where you go then? The part of my mind that humans don't use? As far as I'm concerned you can stay even if you're trapped here or not. However, I'm not much of a rules kind of person really, but there are gonna have to be a couple of big ground rules that you'll have to respect and follow while you're here."

 **"No problem toots. So what exactly are these "rules" you have?"**

"Well for starters, you're allowed to go to any part of my mind except for places that have private or uncomfortable thoughts or memories like what kind of crushes I have on different guys or memories of times I took a shower."

 **"Ya don't have to worry about me breaking that last one Road Runner. I know how you humans are sometimes with having modesty and dignity anyway. Plus if it helps I've already seen dozens of naked forms in my one trillion years of existence. So seeing yours probably won't be anything new to me. Now then, is there any other rules I should know?"**

"Uh, yeah but it's only two. The second and third rule is that you can't read my mind without permission and that you have to be careful with whatever ya do here. I don't really wanna have any good memories of my past or important things I have to remember get somehow accidentally lost in my subconscious or flat out destroyed if you mess with it in an uncaring way."

 **"Don't worry about a thing doll. I'll make sure nothing that is of real importance or meaning here gets tapered with or damaged in anyway. Plus if ya want I could probably upgrade your minds scenes a bit."**

"Like...?"

 **"Putting a nightmare force field around it, digging up forgotten happy memories, improving your intelligence a-"**

"-Ok, that's cool. You can stop now I get it. Wow, that sure is a lot of stuff you can do. Do you ever get worn out by it all?"

 **"Technically no. I'm a being of pure energy with really no kinds of mortal weakness, so that means I don't really need the basic necessaries that mortals need to regain any strength they may loose like food or sleep."**

"So you've never slept in your entire existence? That's sounds pretty bogus."

 **"Not really actually. I find it to be quite enjoyable. Plus why would I sleep when there are so many different minds to see? In a way sleep and basic nutrition would only slow me down and hold me back a lot."**

"Eh, I guess I can't really argue with that logic. Plus the whole exploring dreams and imagination thing does sound a lot more fun than sleeping."

I wanted to say something else to him but I was soon cut off when I fearfully noticed the desert around us started to become blurry and disoriented and the chairs and chess table began to disappear leaving both me and Bill to float aimlessly in the air. I then suddenly grabbed onto him and held him for dear life as I continued to watch the shocking scene unfold.

"Bill, what's happening?! Why is everything disappearing?!"

 **"Don't get so worked up Runner. This just means you're gonna be waking up soon. You have been asleep for three hours now."**

"What?! But I don't wanna wake up yet! There are many things I wanna know about you! And if this is a dream, how do I know if I'll even see you again?! Please don't leave me ye- HEY! WHAT GIVES?!"

I then felt a force pull me away from Bill and carry me back to reality. I tried to fight it and reach out to him, but the force was just too strong. I then looked to him with a sad, defeated look while tears started to form in my eyes. I just met him and was starting to like him a bit. What if after this I really do never see him again.

 **"Aaw, don't cry kid. Everything that happened here was as real as that sweet face of yours. You'll me see again tonight when you fall asleep. And remember, reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, BYE!**

"No wait! Come back please! BILL!"

* * *

Kate's awake Pov:

"GASP! NO!"

I then sat up from my inflatable mattress with a sudden and shocked jerk and soon looked around to find that the dream was now gone along with Bill. I felt my heart sink a bit at the thought of how much I didn't want that dream to end so soon. I then found that I had tear tracks on my face and realized I was probably crying in my sleep. I have only cried in my sleep two times in my life and now this counted as tearful sleep number 3. Although I didn't really know why I cried during that cool dream I had though. I mean Bill was great and all, but why did I feel so attached and unwilling to let him go like that? Plus why the heck did he tell me to buy gold? As I got up from the mattress to head back downstairs to see what the others were doing, I saw something strange on my right wrist. I looked at it to find that it was a few words written in black ink that said "The Dream Is Real Road Runner". I froze in disbelief at what it said. Did that mean that he _was_ real? What in the name of God had I gotten myself into? I soon made my way to the bathroom to wash my arm before heading downstairs to the others. I had decided while I was recovering from my shock of disbelief that I wouldn't speak of what happened to any of the Pines, Soos and his fiancé, and the rest of Gravity Falls in general. I felt that even if this was a real thing that was happening to me that I didn't have to share it with them. In a way I kind of wanted Bill to be someone only I could hangout and talk to. I had strangely felt so comfortable with him that maybe in time we could be best friends even. Only time would tell if that was to become true or not.


	6. Chapter 6: Lies and Slumberparty!

Chapter 6: Lies and Slumberparty!

Bill's Pov in Kate's mind:

" **Ahahahahahaha! I can't believe she fell for that! Dream Explorer! A being made to kill nightmares! Oh man, it's just too much!"**

That's right, I totally tricked that girl into believing I was a goodwill being of the mind. It's funny how gullible her and her kind seemed to be a lot at times. And how willing she was to just up and trust a lying, mind manipulating dream demon like me. I knew that when I first saw her from my stone form that she was just some naive and innocent young woman that with a bit of convincing would soon start to warm up to me. And once I get her to free me I'll be able to get my revenge on the Pines and the rest of this stupid hick town and get back to unleashing Weirdmaggeton worldwide once more! But how would I get that barrier down without old Sixer's help?

Oh wait now! I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here. For those of you who are wondering how I'm still alive and kicking, please allow me to elaborate. Ya see, when I had supposingly entered old Fordsy's mind, I was hoping to be able to find that simple equation to help collapse that ignoramus of a barrier that kept me and my henchmaniacs stuck inside the confines of Gravity Falls. Unfortunately, Sixer and his useless twin brother had tricked me by trading places. So instead of getting that equation, I got a one way ticket to totally annihilation with old Fez supposingly going down with me. Or so we both thought. I did get a hard left hook in the face by Fez and was shattered into a million pieces that caused me to black out for sometime. After about what felt like a few days, I had somehow miraculously rematerialized and was now in some kind of dark and empty space. I was rather relieved when I realized that I had not truely met my end, but then I came across another stressful problem. The dark void I had been fixed up in wouldn't let me escape no matter what I did to it. So after some much angered filled attacks and inhuman screaming to get it to set me free, I hopelessly decided that I was doomed to rot inside whatever I was in for all eternity. While I stewed inside my dark prison over what felt like an Earth year go by, I discovered that my prison was actually my old physical form that was now a lifeless, stone cold lawn ornament. I had also found out that I was surprisingly weakened by the Pines attempt to destroy me and was unable to gain enough power to break out. And after several months of seething in rage and imagining all the ways I could destroy the Pines and their stupid hick town, I was soon just about to give up any hope of ever getting out. Until she came. From my prison, I was able to at least see who came to visit my form. Sixer came by a few times to my displeasure, but after a few weeks he stopped coming for some strange reason. And then one day, I saw a young human woman with somewhat of an attitude, looks, and style of some teenage wannabe rockstar. She had long brunette hair that was dyed red at the ends of it. She also had hazel eyes that sparkled and shined with a childlike innocence. I saw and heard every little thing she did and was able to discover that she was obviously an out of towner from how unafraid and clueless she seemed to be. And boy was she a strange one. She was talking and introducing herself to my old physical form as if she thought it was a real being that was actually listening to her. I found it funny that she had absolutely no idea who I truely was. I bet old Sixer had told his family and the rest of the town to keep their traps shut about last summer's little end of the world party I through here to outsiders like her. As I continued to watch and listen to her with mild amusement and curious, I saw that she had stepped closer and was now touching my form in an attempt to find out who and what I supposedly was. Then something unexpected happened. As soon as she had touch the surface of the stone, a strange, bright blue light broke through the darkness of my prison and was not sucking me up against my will. As I went through the glowing opening, I ended up closing my eye from how bright it was. Once I had felt that the trip was over, I opened it to find that I was no longer in dark void, but in some sort of southwestern desert with all kinds of plants and creatures that were designed to adapt to that kind of harsh environment. I was a it confused on how I was now in such a scorching wasteland when I remembered telling my form that she was from some place called Arizona. And that's when it hit me. I was in the girl's mind! I then began to laugh with sadistic glee knowing that if I played my cards right with this woman that I would once again be able to gain ultimate power and take full control of everyone and thing in the intire universe. Which brings us back to the here and now.

 **"Boy, this has become a lot more simple than I thought it would be. I practically have that sweet little ginger snap wrapped around my twisted, chaotic finger. And all it took was a well thought out lie and some of my irresistible charm to get her to trust me a bit. Now all I have to do is use her mind and imagination to replenish my strength, find a spell to get me out of here, and I'll be just one step away from getting back to total universal domination! Plus while I'm here I guess I could look into her mind a bit for fun. Maybe knowing some of her background history will help me in gaining her full trust and willing** **loyalty to me. Plus if the spell or ritual requires her to participate she won't end up refusing to help me since she has no clue who I truely am. Now then, just what kind of powerful spell or ritual would work for a troublesome situation like this?"**

I then summoned an alien and holographic like computer system and began searching through all sorts of spells and ritual instructions from many different parts of the universe. Since I needed Road Runner to help me, I'd probably have to translate whatever one I choose into proper human English if it does come from another world. Even through I'm doing a lot to get this plan to work, I know that pretty soon I won't need her help once I'm free to leave her mind and claim what's mine. Also I'm not gonna free those henchmaniacs or let old Sixer in on some of my power. This time I'm doing this without anyone causing me trouble. After that last experience I had I decided that they all would just be a liability and hold me back from my ultimate goal. From now on, I work alone.

* * *

Kate's Pov:

When I had woken up I realized that it was 3:09 in the afternoon. I guess that means Bill was right when he said I had slept for about three hours. So for the rest of the day I decided to hang with Mabel Syrup and Dip-n-Dots. I was soon getting my nails painted purple by Mabel in the kitchen while Dipper decided to sit with us and ask me some more questions about Arizona.

"So what kind of sports teams does Arizona have exactly?"

"Pretty much the same kind of sports most states have. We have the Arizona Diamondbacks which are baseball, The Phoenix Coyotes who play hockey, The Arizona Cardinals that are football, and finally the Phoenix Suns that play basketball."

"Wow! Those have got to be the coolest sports team names I have ever heard of!"

"Haha, well believe me Mabel, I think they're are probably way cooler sports names out there than the ones I named off. Also thanks for the nail paint session. I don't think I've ever really had someone paint my nails for me before."

"Aw, don't metion it Kate. I find it fun to do stuff like this with others. And if ya still want and feel up to it I can show you how to make sweaters tomorrow and I can even make you one while I teach you."

"That sounds great! I'll see if I can try to get myself feeling better enough to do so then. By the way, I think that sleeping really helps speed up the healing of my bruise. See? It looks less black than it was yesterday."

"Hmm, yeah, it does seem a bit better looking than before. A lot less dark looking to be honest."

"What can I say? I heal fast."

As soon as Mabel finished painting my nails we heard Stan yell from downstairs saying that Mabel's friends Candy and Grenda had come by for a visit. As soon as Mabel heard her friends names she quickly busted with an overwhelming spark of excitement.

"OH MY GOSH! MY FRIENDS ARE HERE! I TOTALLY FORGOT THEY WERE COMING OVER TODAY FOR OUR SLUMBER PARTY! COME ON KATE YA HAVE TO MEET THEM THEY WILL ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU!"

The next thing I knew I was being pulled by my hand down the stairs while smiling and laughing a bit at how excited she seemed to be about me meeting her friends. When we finally made it downstairs to the front door my eyes fell on two girls about Mabel's age smiling casually at us while they each held their own backpack and sleeping bag. The first one I saw was a small girl with straight, black waist length hair and round glasses with black rims. She was also wearing a cute striped jade long sleeved shirt with a purple skirt, some black shoes with white socks, and a pink backpack on her back. And of course like Mabel she to had cute rosy cheeks. Next to her was a girl that seemed to has a bit more muscle than she did. She had auburn colored hair that she put up in a ponytail along with a yellow barrette on one side of her head. She wore a pink shirt that said "COOL" on it, some purple shorts, and pink and purple sneakers with white socks. She also seemed to have a small red colored beauty mark on her strong yet happylooking face.

"Hi Candy! Hey Grenda! It's so good to see you both! I'm so sorry but I totally forgot about the slumber party today because something really big just happened. And she's the reason why."

Mabel then suddenly and joyfully pushed me closer to her friends so we could get better acquainted with one another. I was a bit stunned by the sudden shove but I quickly recovered once she had pushed me close enough to talk to them.

"Guys, this is Kate. She's a new comer from Arizona and is now going to start working here at the Mystery Shack. Kate, these are my best friends Candy and Grenda. I met them last year and we've been friends ever since."

"Hello, it's very nice to meet you Kate."

"I really love the way your hair looks. Do you do it yourself or do you pay a professional to do it for you?"

As soon as I heard Grenda's deep voice I was a bit shocked for a few moments. But I quickly brushed it off and held my hand out for them both to shake.

"Hehhehheh, it's really nice to meet you both. It's good to know Mabel has friends here. Also I do pay someone to dye my hair Grenda. I'd do it myself but I'm afraid I'd screw it up if I don't follow the steps correctly."

"Cool."

"So how long have you been here Kate?"

"For about a day now. I just arrived yesterday and I ended up meeting Mabel and her family here when a...somewhat unfortunate event happened."

"What happened?"

"Ishotherwithmygrapplinghook..."

We then all turned to look at Mabel who was looking door at the floor with her hands behind her back and a shamed look on her face.

"What?"

"I said...I accidentally shot her with my grappling hook."

"GASP!"

"WHOA!"

"Yeah I know. But I swear it was an accident. I mostly blame the grappling hook for it really."

"It's alright Mabel, we know you're better than that."

"Yeah, you're a total good guy in our eyes."

"Plus now it also explains the bruise on your forehead. May I take a closer look at it?"

"Uh, sure I guess."

I got down on one knee so that I could give Candy a chance to take a good look at it. She squinted and studied it quizzingly for a few moments before stepping back a bit.

"Hm, it looks like it's healing quite nicely. And this happened yesterday?"

"It sure did. And it's still kinda tender to the touch."

"Strange. It looks more like it's two days old than a day old."

"That's cause she heals fast, right Kate?"

"Yup. I've always been a fast healer in my family. Even when I get the flu it's gone by the next day."

"Hey! Are we just gonna sit and chat or are we gonna get this party started?"

"Oh you know it Grenda. I just need to let my Grunkles and Dipper know your here and get some the things I got in town together first. Kate, could you show them to our room so they can settle in while I take care of the plans for tonight?"

"Sure, I don't mind helping a bit. And if ya want I can get out my Cards Against Humanity game and we can play that at the party."

"I've heard of that game. My parents don't let me play it cause they say it's more of an adult kind of game through."

"Well what they don't know can't hurt them right?"

"Hmm, touché Kate. Alright then, you can bring it out if ya want to. Now if you excuse me, I have a slumber party to get started. Grunkle Stan!"

As Mabel ran off screaming one of her Grunkles, I walked with Candy and Grenda up the stairs to Mabel and Dipper's room where they soon began to unwrap their sleeping bags and what not. While I hung out a bit with the two girls, I decided to run up to my attic room and pull out my AMC's The Walking Dead sleeping bag so I could better join in on the fun as well. Pretty soon everything was set up and once dinner was over with the real fun started to happen. We ate junkfood and soda, played a round or two of Cards Against Humanity which the girls and Dipper got a kick out of, and finally we finished the party by watching Short Circuit on my portable projector screen. Once Me, Candy, and Grenda had settled into our sleeping bags and the Twins were in their beds, the girls didn't seem to want to go to sleep just yet. They talked quietly and giggled about different topics girls their age would chat about while me and Dipper just laid in our sleeping areas trying to fall asleep with all of it. Eventually I couldn't take it anymore and decided to deal with the problem with an old trick my dad used to pull on me.

"Hey guys, you know that people call this a slumber party for a reason right?"

"But we don't wanna go to sleep yet! Plus it's summer break. Who the heck doesn't stay up late during the summer?!"

"People who like to be well rested Mabel. Now can you do me and Kate a favor and let us sleep?"

"Well I'm not tired yet. So if ya wanna get me and my friends to be quiet then you two are gonna have to try a lot harder than just asking."

I smirked at Mabel's choice of words and realized that it was either now or never to pull the trick off. I only hoped that it would work on the girls.

"How about I sing one of the songs my dad would to me in the car when I was little to you guys?"

"Really? A song? How is that gonna get them to be quiet?"

"Believe me Dip-n-Dots, if it worked on me then there is no doubt that it will work on the."

"As if Collins! Go on then, go ahead and sing this "little song" of yours. It's not like it'll work or anything."

"Alright then. Oh and make sure to get comfortable for this one guys. You're gonna be needed it once I'm through."

As soon as both the girls and Dipper were under their cozy covers I began to sing in a calm a relaxed kind of voice that would put even a whole preschool room to sleep, teacher and all. The song was from an old movie I'd watch with my dad a lot as a kid, and sometimes when I couldn't sleeping at night he'd sing it to me since it was one of my favorite songs to hear.

True Grit by Glen Campbell:

One day, Little girl

the saddness will leave your face

As soon as you've won your fight

To get justice done

Somedays, little girl

You'll wonder what life's about

But others have known

Few battles are won alone

So, you'll look around to find

Someone who's kind, someone

Who is fearless like you

The pain of it will ease a bit

When you find a man with true grit

One you will rise and

You won't believe your eyes

You'll wake and see

A world that is fine and free

Though summer seems far away

You'll find the sun one day

Though summer seems far away

You'll find the sun one day

Once I had finished singing and began to break out of my relaxed and meditating state, I looked around to see that my plan did indeed work on both the girls and Dipper. They were all fast asleep and snoring soundly as I looked at them all with a small smile on my face.

"Works everytime."

And with that I got comfortable and fell into a peaceful and heartwarming sleep knowing who would be waiting for me in my dreams. Little did I or the kids know that from outside the door stood a certain scientist who had heard everything and was now walking away with a warm smile on his old face.


	7. Chapter 7: What Dreams May Come

Chapter 7: What Dreams May Come

Kate's Dream Pov:

I didn't know exactly when I drifted off, but when I opened my eyes I wasn't in the same location as I was before. I was now in on sort of dirt road that was lined with maple trees. The trees seemed to have an autumn look going with all the red, orange, and yellow leaves adorning each tree that I saw. The peace I was feeling from both the air area was pretty amazing too. It was kinda like a warm mixture of Halloween and camping with the smell of caramel apples and a roaring campfire blowing through the gentle, crisp breeze. I soon started to walk down the road that seemed to stretch out as far as my eyes could see with a peaceful smile on my face. It was too bad that there weren't too many places like this where I used to live. I think it would of been a whole lot more enjoyable if Arizona had more places like this and less places like the Saguaro Desert and Tombstone. And with a climate like this who wouldn't want to live in a place last this? As I kept walking aimlessly but happily to wherever this road would take me, I started singing a song I knew that somehow had popped into my head while I continued to at the brilliant colors of the leaves.

October Road by James Taylor:

Well I'm-a going back down maybe one more time, deep down home, October road.

And I might like to see that little friend of mine that I left behind once upon a time.

Oh, promised land and me still standing, it's a test of time, it's a real good sign.

Let the sun run down right behind the hill,

I know how to stand there still till the moon rise up

right behind the pine, oh, Lord, October road.

Let the sun run down right behind the hill,

I know how to stand there still till the moon rise up

right behind the pine, oh, Lord, October road.

It's the big-time life that I can't abide, raise my rent, tan my hide.

Sweet call of the countryside, go down slow, open wide..

I did my time and it changed my mind, I'm satisfied, oh.

I got so low down, fed up, my God, I could hardly move.

Won't you come on, my brother, get on up and help me find my groove.

Keep me walking, October road. Keep me walking in the sunshine, yeah

A little friend of mine, October road.

Keep me walking, October road. Keep me walking in the sunshine, yeah.

A little friend of mine, October road, help me now.

 **"Bravo! Encore! That was truely astonishing Road Runner!"**

Out of both pure surprise and shock, I turned around suddenly to find Bill clapping his hands with a look of utter delight in his one eye. As soon I regained my composure I smiled and decided to humor him further by playfully and dramatically bowing and waving him off with a my hand.

"Thank you! Thank you! You're all too kind!"

 **"Ha! Talented and humorous. I'm starting to like you more and more toots. Also nice job getting those kids to sleep there. Who knew you had a motherly side like that? Well, besides me that is."**

"Oh that old trick? It was nothing really. So, I'm guessing you set this all of this up yourself?"

 **"You bet I did. It was pretty much a cake walk to set this little scenes up really. I merely went on a little walk around your imagination and just a couple of your memories to help put the trees and leaves together. In fact, not only did I pull these out of yours memories, but I also made them out of different Candie's you like. Ya see the bark of the trees? Those are actually made out of one of your favorite candy bars. And the leaves are actually gummy candies."**

"So pretty much I'm walking in a Willy Wonka candy garden made just for me right?"

 **"In a way yes. Why don't ya try some and see for yourself?"**

I walked calmly over to one of the trees and used my index finger to scrape some of the bark in case Bill was trying to pull some sort of prank on me. I still didn't know Bill completely, but he looked like the sort of individual who'd like to do a few tricks and have a good laugh a lot. But at least this wasn't a trick cause to my relief the bark came off onto my finger with ease. I inspected it for a moment to make sure it wasn't tapered with in any sort of way before slowly sticking it in my mouth. My eyes then lit up a bit when I finally realized what I was eating.

"Oh my holy Hersey! Is this made out of Three Musketeers?!"

 **"Surprise! I'd knew you'd love it!"**

"Heck ya I do! This tastes great!"

I dug my hand into the bark and pulled out a huge chunk to munch away on. This was the best thing I had ever tasted. It was too bad it was a dream though. Cause I know a lot of people who I'd love to eat this with me. Then I remembered that Bill was behind me still and I started to feel a bit rude to not have invited him to eat this with me. After all he did went through all the trouble to make this for me.

"*gulps loudly* Oh uh, sorry about that Bill. Ya wanna try some? It's really good."

 **"No thanks toots. I'm not much of a chocolate person really. And like I said before, I don't need to eat like you humans and other mortal beings do. I'm glad you're enjoying it though. Hey, what do ya say we keep walking and see where the path leads us. I did design it to end at some point, but when and where is something I haven't quite figured out or have had time to make yet."**

"Well, this all seems like some sort of fictional story to me. So like any great fictional writer of a book, why don't we just make up our own ending?"

 **"Hmm, making our own ending. I like the way you think Runner. Alright then, how's about we make a deal out of it? We can just keep walking as long as ya want and when you wanna decide to stop, I'll whip up a surprise location for us to stop at."**

"A surprise location huh? Sounds suspicious yet quite promising as well. Ok Cipher, it's a deal then."

 **"Super! Let's shake on it then doll!"**

I jumped back a bit in a scared manner when Bill suddenly held his now burning blue hand out for me to shake. He of course to noticed and laughed a bit at my sudden shock.

 **"Don't be so nervous toots. The flame won't hurt you if that's what you're thinking."**

"I-I thought you knew what I was thinking."

 **"Well I am trying to follow the rules you set up here ya know. Remember? Back in the desert?"**

"Oh yeah, right. Sorry. Um, you're positive this is safe and it won't hurt me right?"

 **"Would my hand be like this if it wasn't kid? Just trust your gut and shake it."**

Well, I guess that made _some_ sense when he put it that way. And I do like to trust my gut a lot sometimes. How else do ya think I win most arcade games and cake walks at public events? I began to slowly reach my hand out to his until finally it was professional gripping his own. At first I did tense up just in case he was lying to me, but then I relaxed when I realized he was telling the truth about the flame. It didn't actually hurt to my surprise. It felt more like the cool and gentle breeze of a refrigerator freezer when ya open it to get an OtterPop to snack on. When I released his hand I examined my own to find that the flame did indeed leave me unscarred and unharmed.

 **"Ya see? What did I tell ya? Nice grip ya got there too if I may add. It felt like I was shaking hands with a pro wrestling champion or something for a moment there."**

"Thanks I guess. So, shall we continue this lovely walk then?"

 **"Let's shall!"**

He then held his thin arm out in a gentleman like manner for me to take that made me blush a bit. I gently linked my own arm around it and was soon letting Bill lead me down the tasteful yet never ending road of crispy colors. I was still blushing for a few minutes as we walked calmly together like it was just some other day to the both of us. Why the heck did I feel all flustered whenever he was sweet or called me pet names? It's not like I really liked the guy or anything. I mean sure he seemed like a pretty great friend and stuff, but the idea of dating him would probably be a _very_ far cry from reality. Just looking at him makes me think of him being the love child of a Cool Ranch Dorito and the illuminati symbol or the freakish distant cousin of The Yellow Brick Road from the Wiz featuring Micheal Jackson and Diana Ross. So pretty much having any kind of romantic relationship was not up for debate at this point. Pretty soon I got over my weird feelings and blushing face and began eating a few gummy leaves that were close enough for me to reach while we walked.

"Mm! These are really great Bill. They taste just like those Jolly Rancher Gummies I buy at Walmart sometimes. I especially like the red and yellow ones. Cherry and Lemon have to be the best flavors ever in my opinion!"

 **"Yeah, I figured as much. Guess having me around wasn't as bad as ya thought right?"**

"Hey, how'd you kno-"

 **"-It doesn't just take a quick mind reading to know you were unsure about me staying here at first Runner. I've lived through more lives than you could possibly count so I pretty much know about how human minds work and feel even without looking into them. You should of seen yourself when I first met you. Your body language was practically screaming the words nervous and scared all at the same time."**

"Oh. Right. I forgot you're older than probably time itself. So you've probably have really seen it all haven't you?"

 **"Pretty much. I've lived for countless centuries and have seen kingdoms, countries, and even nations both on your world and others either prosper or fall. The signing of the Magna Carta? Seen it. The Black Plague? Been there and done it. The American Civil War? Tell me something I don't know about that one. Anything you can probably ask me I can tell ya like it was, now, and will be. Also if I haven't told you yet I'm also capable of seeing into the future if I so wish to."**

"Whoa! You can do that? Tell me, is the world gonna end in 2018? Someone told me it might. I gotta know for sure."

 **"Hahahaha! Oh, you and that imagination of yours kid. No, the world isn't gonna end just yet. You humans are hilarious when it comes that sort of thing. Thinking your world will have some sort of gruesome and life destroying end like a zombie apocalypse or your planet's core will somehow erupt and cause it to instantly detonate and obliterate everything you all hold dear. It's truely entertaining really."**

"Well, as far as I'm concerned we as the human race have pretty much feared what we can't understand since the very beginning. So not knowing and fearing what could happen in the far future is something that doesn't sound too ridiculous to me really."

Bill then stopped floating and put one of his arms around my shoulders to my sudden surprise. He then leaned in a bit towards my face so that my hazel eyes were peering into his huge cat eye.

 **"Listen here sweetheart. You and the rest of your fleshy kind have nothing to be worried about. I mean sure you got your wars, deadly diseases, and the occasional political problems, but as far as you and the whole world you can rest assure that this planet and everything on it isn't going anywhere for a very long time."**

"So we really have nothing to fear?"

 **"Well, other than the last three and probably a dozen other world problems out there yeah. This planet of yours is a-ok."**

"Oh thank God! Now I can rest a bit more easy knowing that fact. Anywho, I think I'm ready for this little walk to end now. I'm kind of excited to see what kind of surprise place you have planned anyway."

 **"Alrighty then Double R, if you insist. But first, close your eyes."**

"Bill-"

 **"-Will ya just do it doll?"**

Despite feeling a bit annoyed by his request I still complied and did as he had asked. The last time I was told to do that I got a water balloon smashed over my head. And since then I have been a bit weary of people who ask me to do things like that. Once my eyes were close I heard strange whooshing and magical twinkling noises coming from where I knew Bill was standing. The sound soon faded and I sudden felt a pair of tiny hands on my shoulder and was soon being moved and guided gently to wherever Bill wanted ms to go.

"Bill, I swear to God if this is some sort of-"

 **"It's not a trick Road Runner I can assure you of that. Besides, we shook on it remember? And when I make a deal I don't break it. Now be quiet and let me do my thing. You're eyes are still closed right?"**

"Yes."

 **"Good. Just keep them like that until I tell you otherwise. You're gonna love this!"**

After about what felt like two minutes of being blindly lead by Bill, he finally stopped me and let go of my shoulders. Where in my mind did he take me to exactly?

 **"Ok. Now."**

As soon as I opened my eyes and saw where I was I nearly squealed like an overexcited Fangirl. Bill had brought me to an opened meadow that had the one thing I had loved since I was probably knee high. Mareep. Yes dear reader, the meadow was filled with an entire flock of cute, fluffy, and highly shocking (no pun intended) Pokemon known to me and other fans as Mareep. I put both of my hands to my heart in both amazement and gratefulness at the sight of it all. This was truely a wonderful thing Bill had done for me. After standing like that for a few moments I then reached up next to where he was floating along side me and pulled him into a warm and grateful hug.

"Oh Bill this is just wonderful!"

 **"Haha, yeah. I figured you'd like this. Apparently you used to be a real fan of this "Pokemon" franchise when you were younger and these weird sheep-like lighting sponges happen to be one of your favorite types if I'm not mistaken."**

"Oh you're far from it Bill. Thank you so much. This has all been so amazing! I-Whoa! What the-Oh, hello there, where'd you come from?"

I was then interrupted by the feeling of a Mareep nuzzling my pajama bottom covered leg happily and sweetly. Once it got my attention it looked up at me with sparkling eyes and bleated in a happy sounding tone as my answer.

"Hahaha, well aren't you just a sweetheart. It's too bad you're not real though. Otherwise I'd take you back with me to the real world in a heartbeat."

I bent down to the Mareep's level and began petting it's fluffy coat. Wow! It was just as soft as I imagined it would be! And since it was my dream it made a whole lot of sense knowing that whatever I could imagine would come true.

 **"So, you having fun so far kid?"**

"You kidding? I'm having the time of my life! I hope this dream never ends Bill!"

 **"Hahaha, I'm glad ya feel that way Road Runner. But sadly all things both good or bad must come to an end. And it looks like the end of this sweet dream is near."**

And sure enough Bill was right. I looked around to find that the sky above turned into a mixture of different colors and the Mareep were closing their eyes one by one and disappearing into the sky in the form of different magical and colorful auras of purple, green, and blue. As I watched this all unfold my heart sank a bit knowing I'd have to face reality once more.

 **"Oh wait! I have one more surprise for you before you go toots."**

Bill then pulled his tophat off and reached inside of it. After moving his hand around inside a bit for a moment, he pulled it out and was now holding a beautiful bracelet made of sparkling green gems.

"Oh Bill, is that really for me?"

 **"It sure is. Remember that rock I turned into an emerald in that last dream ya had? Well I found that you had dropped it after you left me and decided to turn it into a bracelet for you to wear. So now when you leave this bracelet will appear on your wrist in the real world."**

Bill gently took my left hand and slipped the bracelet onto my wrist. I looked closely at how well he had crafted the gems and felt truely flattered that he would do so much for someone who seemed so ordinary.

"Well, I guess this is it until tomorrow night then Cipher. Thanks for all the treats and surprises you made for me."

 **"It was my pleasure doll. See ya later Road Runner! And remember, I'll be watching you, _ALWAYS WATCHING YOU!"_**

* * *

Kate's Awake Pov:

I opened my eyes slowly to find I was back in Mabel and Dipper's room all snuggled up in my sleeping bag. I sat up and looked around to see that everyone was gone except Waddles who woke up as soon I sat up and walked over to me to get his back rubbed. I reached out to do so with my left hand but stop short when I realized what was on it. It was the emerald bracelet Bill gave me. I couldn't believe it was here and on my wrist. But then I remembered the last dream where I woke up to find writing on my arm. So technically that meant Bill sort of had the same thing that Freddy Krueger had. Whenever someone got a hold of something that Freddy had in their dream, like his hat for instance, they could pull it out of the dream and into the real world when they woke up. So I guess whenever Bill gave me something small like the bracelet I could just take the it back with me to the real world. Who'd a thunk? I grabbed ahold of Waddles and pulled him into my lap to show off the bracelet Bill gave me to him.

"Well Waddles, look what I got."

Waddles oinked happily as a response and sniffed a little at the bracelet. After letting myself wake up a bit and allowing Waddles to inspect my new accessory for a few minutes, I finally moved him off my lap and began making my way up stairs to my attic room to get a fresh change of clothes and take a quick shower before going down to eat breakfast with the others. I thought a lot about how Bill had done so much for me in the last two dreams I had. I felt like I needed to thank him somehow. But that was just it. How do you properly thank a dream entity? I kept thinking about it while I got ready until it finally hit me like a ton of bricks as I was brushing my hair.

"Oh ho man, Bill is gonna love it!"


	8. Chapter 8: To Thank A Dream Entity

Chapter 8: To Thank A Dream Entity

My first day of work was actually going quite more smoothly than I thought it would. Especially since I was kind of expecting Ford's brother to get on me a bit. Fortunately for me he was too busy giving tours and doing a couple of illegal things like exporting pugs across the Mexican border. Pretty much all I had to do was sweep the shop floor, unpack a stock new merch on the shelves, hooks, or clothes racks that need restocking, and run the cash register when Soos had to do something important like answer the phone. Of course there was one point that he was tending to some customers and he told me to answer it instead. Good thing I'd did too because the call actually turned out to be for me.

"Hello, you've reached Gravity Fall's Mystery Shack. How can we be of service to you today?"

"..."

"Dad? Hey Dad, I see ya got the phone number I texted Aunt Mary. how are ya doing?"

"..."

"Yes, I did make it to Gravity Falls with no problems. I'm sorry if I didn't call you right away like I promised. I sort of, uh, had some things to take care first. ( _"Like that_ _incident with the grappling hook that shall not be mentioned"_ )But hey, guess what? I got a job here. I'm working and staying at this place called The Mystery Shack. It's really great and I've already made friends with some of the locals."

"..."

"Yes Dad, it's just temporary. I plan to save up a bit so I can get an apartment in town. And don't worry about me too much ok? I'm in good hands here. And the people seem really nice so far ( _"Unless ya count that old crabapple Stanley Pines."_ )."

"..."

"DAD! Seriously?! Ew! Can ya not say shit like that?! Of course I'm not gonna let some guy take advantage of me. You know I'm better than that."

"..."

"Yeah, I know ya worry about me a lot. But please try not to worry too much ok? I'm perfectly fine here with my new friends and co workers so you shouldn't have to worry about my safety."

"..."

"Alright, I promise I'll try to call ya more often."

"..."

"Yeah, I love ya too Dad. I gotta go now ok? I'm still working here. Bye."

And with that I hung up the phone and walked back to the shelves to finish restocking them. Soos then came in after dealing with the customers from before.

"Hey Kate, who was that on the phone?"

"Hmm? Oh, no one important really. It was just my dad checking up on me is all."

"Your dad? How does he know the Shack's phone number?"

"Well, I texted my Aunt Mary after dinner the other night and told her to make sure my dad got the number I sent her since he doesn't have a cell phone. So I guess that message finally got though."

"Awesome! What did he say?"

"He asked if I got here ok and wanted to know if everything was ok. Also he said something gross about how I should be careful around guys like he always does. Of course he just says that to me cause he cares and he worries. But sometimes I wish he wouldn't worry so much about me."

Soos just put a supportive hand on my shoulder and gave me a kind smile at my response.

"Aw, don't get so moody about it Kate. It's actually kind of sweet that he thinks about ya that much. Plus you're lucky to have him around in your life really. Why would ya want something like gone out of your life?"

I smiled at him and placed my hand on his. He was right. Why would I wish for something like that to disappear?

"Thanks Soos. I guess you're right about that. Maybe my dad being a worry wort isn't such a bad thing after all."

The sweet moment between me and my boss/friend was interrupted by Stanely's voice from outside.

"Kate! Get out here! I need you to help me move theses tin barrels full of pugs onto this truck for me asap!"

"Ugh, ok Stan I'm coming! Just hold your damn horses will ya?! Well Soos, I guess it's back to work for me."

"Heh, yeah I guess. Good luck!"

And with that I ran out the door while Soos resumed his post at the register.

* * *

Several hours later...

Well, it wasn't extremely easy but I made it through my first day of work. Sure old Stan was a pain in the ass, but at least I did a great job with helping out around the Mystery Shack. Also thinking about what I was gonna do for Bill really helped too whenever I needed to think of a happy thought or two. And now I was once again in my pajamas and laying on my inflatable bed waiting for sleep to take me. Soon sleep did consume me and when I opened my eyes again I found that I was standing in the middle of a beautiful looking Victorian park with a swan filled pond next to it.

"Huh, pretty. But if I'm gonna impress Bill with my idea, I'm gonna have to make this scene a bit more...wild."

I closed my eyes and concentrated hard on my thoughts. I tried to think of the world around me like a piece of molding clay I can bend and change into anything I pleased. I reached down deep inside and unleashed my inner strength to help better make it clear who called the shots here as I let my idea begin to change the park around me. It soon became to my joy the one thing I was hoping it to be as I opened my eyes to look around. And just in time too cause no sooner had I finished did my friend pop up out of nowhere in a flash of bright light.

 **"Hey Road Runner! Sorry I'm late, I was busy with-what the?!"**

Bill Cipher's one eye was filled amazed at what he was looking at. We were in the middle of a plaza with tall trees and plants that I was all too very familiar with. The plaza had a giftshop and a few concession stands as well. I of course just stood there with a proud smile on my face as Bill continued to look around.

 **"Well, I gotta say toots, this looks pretty great. I didn't think you were gonna master the whole "mind over matter" trick so soon but I guess I was wrong. Color me impressed! But uh, just exactly where are we though doll?"**

"I'm glad you asked Bill. Welcome to The Phoenix Zoo. Located in the Papago Park area and is home to over 1,400 animals of Earth on display and is a sanctuary for all of God's beautiful creatures. Do ya like like it? I thought bringing you to one of my favorite places back home was a great way to thank you and stuff sin-"

 **"Whoa whoa whoa there sweetheart! Time out. You did all of this just to thank me?"**

"Well, yeah. I mean, you have been a great friend to me so far and ya did make that last dream for me really great. So I thought since you went through all the trouble to make me happy that I should return the favor. And what better way to do that than to show one of the places back home that I love to visit often."

Bill just looked down with a look of deep thought and slight concern after I finished telling him my reason. Of course the silence made me worried a bit so I decided to speak up.

"Bill, are you ok?"

 **"Huh? Oh, of course I'm fine Double R! No need to get all worried about me toots. I'm just, ya know, real touched is all. No other bein has really ever went as far as making a dream just for me in my whole existence. So the idea of you being the first is really kind of..."**

"Sweet?"

 **"Yeah, that's the word! So thanks toots. It was real great of ya to go so far as to make an old entity like me happy. Anywho, so what's this "Phoenix Zoo" thing got huh? I can't help but be a bit curious after hearing it has over how many Earth organisms again?"**

"Over 1,400. And I can still give ya the grand tour of the place if ya really are interested in seeing it."

 **"You bet I am dollface. Shall we then Road Runner?"**

"Yes Bill, let's shall."

Pretty soon me and Bill were walking hand in hand (as friends and not lovers so don't get the wrong idea) along the plaza towards the Giraffe exhibit that was next to one of the zoo's many trails. As we walked along said trail away from the giraffes, I began telling Bill everything I knew about the place while Bill listen carefully with quiet amusement.

"I've been coming here with friends and family since I was real little. It was started back in 1962 by a Mr. Robert Maytag, a memeber of the Maytag family, and is the largest privately owned, nonprofit zoo in the US. It operates on 125 acres of land and contains 2.5 miles of walking trails as well. And those trails are divided into four different trails called the Arizona, African, Tropic, and Children's trail that also has a petting zoo. My favorite happens to be the African trail which were on now because it has a very special site I wanna show you."

We stopped short near the mountain where they keep their goats and pointed directly at what I wanted Bill to see.

"Ya see that white colored pyramid on top of that large sandy hill there? Well as strange as it sounds, that happens to be the resting place of George W.P. Hunt. He was Arizona's first governor and had served seven terms between February 1912 and January 1933. I guess he kind of had a thing for Egypt since he liked to travel abroad so when his wife died in 1931 he had this "pyramid mausoleum" originally built for her to rest in and wanted it to over look what he called "the splendid valley". He of course joined her in 1934 do to heart failure. And since then the tomb has been a landmark people have been coming to see for decades since."

 **"Heh, well I gotta say, he sounds like he was a human that really liked to think outside the box. I mean any other average human now a days would probably be fine with just a normal and boring coffin in the ground. But this guy really went out with a bang here."**

"Haha, yeah, I guess he did. So, do ya wanna keep going down this trail or should we check out something else?"

 **"Hmm. Well that depends on what this place has. Ya got a guidebook or something for this place toots?"**

"Oh right! Of course! I totally fortunate this place gives out maps. Let me just spoof one up for ya here."

I then suddenly pulled a makeshift map of the place from my pajamas pocket and gave it to Bill to look over. He began looking it over while I of course looked at it over his shoulder and once he saw something he liked he placed a finger on it.

 **"How about this place R and R? It seems rather fun to visit."**

"The Tiger Habitat huh? Wise choice. Come on, it's back this way."

* * *

A short handheld walk later...

Pretty soon me and Bill were sitting quietly on one of the wooden window seats of the tiger habitat watching one of the big cats go about their business like they owned the fricking world. Bill of course soon broke the silence after about 15 minutes went by to bring up a topic from earlier that day.

 **"Hey Road Runner! Guess what I heard today. Go on guess!"**

"If it was about that elusive dream argument I had once with Roger Rabbit I can assure you that we cleared up that little misunderstanding about 6 years ago. He also still owes me a coffee now that I think about."

 **"Actually this is something that happened this morning if I remember correctly. Somethings about boys getting into your pa-"**

"OK, ok! Ya can stop there Cipher. I get the concept. So, you were ease dropping on me and my old man huh?"

 **"Well, more like I accidentally walked in on it really. Boy, talk about overprotective am I right?"**

"Yeah I guess so. But at least it shows he cares about me. Although sometimes I wish he'd understand that I'm old enough to make my own choices and that I'm not really the same little wild child with short puffy hair and brown sandals that I used to be."

 **"I wouldn't worry too much about that through dollface. I'm sure he'll eventually come to terms with it. Besides, after a thousand years of observing your race, I've learned that it's hard for certain humans to let go of different things. And perhaps your dad is having that same issue with letting you spread those inner wings of yours and leaving the nest."**

"Yeah well I hope he starts to understand soon cause as much as I love him I need to find my own way in this world without him being so scared for me all the time. Also I don't even know why he's so worried for me when his own problems are the very reason I ended up in a foster home."

Suddenly the entire scene around us began to melt away meaning it was that time of the mind again. Wake Up Time. But before it ended Bill said had something to say.

 **"Just relax and trust me with this one kid. Your dad will come to expect it in his own time. For now enjoy it. Cause once ya truely grow up, ya can never go back. And we both know he won't be around forever. Like they say "Ya never know what ya have until it's gone". See ya in your dreams kiddo."**

And with that the rest was history. But from those last words Bill told me when I began to wake up and I realized he was right. As much as I've grown I'm still just some little kid with no idea where I'm really going here. If I push my dad away too soon I might end up getting myself hurt or in trouble and he won't be there to help me when I need him most. And it's true that he's gonna pass on sooner or later and I gotta love and cherish what time I got with him while I can.

"Cause ya never know what ya have until it's gone."


End file.
